November 2020

ICF Commercial Construction &
the Nation’s First Net Zero Energy Public School

Thursday, November 19, 2020

12pm noon

$10 Zoom

Kenny Stanfield, AIA

Principal Architect
Sherman Carter Barnhart Architects

As a Principal of Sherman Carter Barnhart’s Education Studio, Kenny leads the firm’s innovation, development, and application of sustainable design strategies in schools. Nationally recognized as a leader of high performance, energy-efficient designs, Kenny has led the design of ground-breaking high performance schools, including the first Zero Energy public school in the United States, the second Zero Energy School, fourteen Zero Energy Emerging/Ready public schools in Kentucky, Kentucky’s first four Energy Star schools, and the first Insulated Concrete Form (ICF) school in Kentucky, as well as the largest ICF school in the Nation. While energy savings is a focus of his designs, Kenny’s real success comes from providing high performance, energy-efficient buildings for the same cost of a conventional building, dispelling the notion that green is expensive.

The Richardsville Elementary School by Sherman Carter Barnhart Architects is the first total energy net zero public school in the nation, and the only net zero energy school in Kentucky.

A 248 kw photovoltaic array consisting of roof-mounted thin film panels and a shade structure of mono-crystalline panels provide 100% of the building’s energy needs annually. Providing enough solar energy to power the building was the easiest aspect of the design team’s challenge, the greatest obstacles included:

• The dramatic energy reduction goal of 75% less energy usage than the average school
• Affordability – Total construction cost, including solar array, could not exceed the KDE standard budget for a conventional elementary school.

The final design focuses on the following aspects identified and implemented by the design team:

• High performance building envelope (ICF walls and R-32 roof)
• Daylight harvesting for classrooms, corridors, and public spaces
• Geothermal HVAC (w/distributive pumping and hot water generation)
• Site-produced solar energy
• “Green” kitchen energy use reduction strategies
• Operations/Maintenance plan
• Another important aspect of the design focused on the students and the integration of the energy saving and sustainable features of the building into the curriculum to create a learning environment of curiosity and imagination.