High Performance Classrooms | HSW

Description:

Student enrollment in Ada County is projected to grow by 1,000 students per year for the next ten years and at least six capital projects are planned in the West Ada District alone to meet this demand. This session will cover a variety of issues facing the design of an efficient, healthy, and productive classroom environment. A quick look at the state of the last 50 years of school design will give an introduction to the problems faced by designers. This session will highlight several case studies of high performance schools in the Northwest to address daylighting, natural ventilation, and integration of mechanical systems. Each passive strategy will be addressed in detail with regional examples and performance research.

HSW Justification: Participants will learn what makes a classroom "good" through exploring four qualities of the indoor environment (Temperature, Air Quality, Light, and Noise) and how they affect a student performance.

Learning Objective 1: 
Participants will learn the issues facing the design of an efficient, healthy, and productive classroom environment.
Learning Objective 2: 
Participants will learn the state of the last 50 years of school design will give an introduction to the problems faced by designers.
Learning Objective 3: 
Participants will be shown several case studies of high performance schools in the Northwest to address daylighting, natural ventilation, and integration of mechanical systems.
Learning Objective 4: 
Participants will learn how each passive strategy will be addressed in detail with regional examples, performance research and economic rate of return.
Learning Units: 
1 LU | HSW
Course Status: 
Approved
AIA Course Number: 
IDL2023001
Speaker: 

Damon Woods
Director - Assistant Professor
Biography: 
Dr. Woods is a licensed mechanical engineer who started working at the IDL as a graduate student back in 2013. His dissertation used energy models paired with weather forecasts to predict how a radiant slab should be managed to maximize occupant comfort. His current research focus is on the integration of surface temperatures into building energy management systems. Dr. Woods has taught courses in advanced thermodynamics and energy modeling. In the office, he spends his time working on energy models and estimating savings from energy upgrades; out of the office he is usually fly fishing or gardening. Dr. Woods earned his B.S. from Montana State University, his M.S. from Boise State University and his Ph.D. from the University of Idaho.