Great Seneca Creek Elementary School, Germantown, Maryland

Great Seneca Creek Elementary School is Montgomery County Public School’s (MCPS) LEED® Gold rated school. The client wanted to pilot a new program: to create a new “green” prototype elementary school for their growing jurisdiction.

The building acts as a 3-D environmental textbook to teach the students about the green features and energy-saving aspects of the building. The compact, two-story school footprint with an open-air educational courtyard allows for minimal site disturbance while still maintaining maximum day light spaces and views to the exterior. The mechanical system is designed to utilize a ground source well field and individual heat pumps and temperature controls. Electric needs are completely covered by green power. Low-E, double glazed insulated fiberglass window units manufactured by Fibertec and an energy star roof coating contribute to the energy savings. Water usage is reduced by over 40% through the use of waterless urinals, dual flush toilets, low-flow aerators and showerheads, and censured faucets. Products include strawboard casework with rapidly renewable content as well as plastic toilet partitions, structural steel, and fly ash concrete that all contain a large percentage of recycled content.