Hot Springs Intermediate School
High-Performance School Encouraging Improved Student Productivity
In passing, the Hot Springs Intermediate School may appear to be an everyday, two-story intermediate school. But in taking a closer look at the aluminum, glass and brick building you will see that there is much more to the building than meets the eye.
With its natural thermal hot springs, successful tourist trade and family-friendly community, Hot Springs, Arkansas is a growing city with about 40,000 residents. When the Hot Springs School District needed to alleviate overcrowding in its existing facilities, they decided to build a new, larger facility, designed to provide students with state-of-the-art resources that help achieve the school’s motto: “Instruction and learning are the priorities.”
The School District was also very interested in incorporating green features into the school, making it as energy-efficient as possible so it was essential for the Architect to work with manufacturers and glaziers that could not only meet the requirements of the District, but bring their knowledge and experience to the table to help the project be a success.
Kawneer’s expertise with incorporating solutions that help provide a healthy, productive learning environment, such as increased daylighting and improved energy-efficiency would be paramount. Many of the classrooms in the new Intermediate School faced west, which was not ideal for energy efficiency or daylighting. Design features such as sunshades would need to help control glare and maximize natural light during school operating hours.
Recognizing these advantages, many of the Kawneer products selected for the project had numerous sustainable features, including the built-in thermal designs of Trifab® (VersaGlaze®) VG 451T Storefront Framing and the combination of custom sunshades and standard 1600 SunShade®. A geo-thermal heating system, insulated building envelope that incorporated Kawneer 1600 Wall System®1 Curtain Wall and additional roof insulation helped to exceed the energy code.
Upon completion, Hot Springs Intermediate School was occupied by approximately 700 fifth and sixth graders and featured a separate physical education building and auditorium for community events, as well as an elaborate arts wing. Its spacious, open floor plan, abundant natural light, reduced energy consumption and modern teaching resources helped make the school state-of-the-art.
