P.S.62 Richmond -Net Zero Energy School

Staten Island, NY – P.S. 62 Richmond, Staten Island, the first net zero energy school in New York State, broke ground today, at a ceremony attended by New York City Department of Education Schools Deputy Chancellor Kathleen Grimm, Staten Island Borough President James P. Molinaro, City Council Member Vincent Ignizio and senior officials from the New York City School Construction Authority (SCA) including President & CEO Lorraine Grillo. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM), P.S. 62 Richmond will be complete and ready for use by Fall 2015. The school, located on a 3.5-acre site at the intersection of Crabtree Avenue and Bloomingdale Road in Richmond, Staten Island, will be a 444-seat primary school. Roger Duffy, FAIA, SOM Design Partner and head of the firm’s Education Lab called this project, “an extraordinary opportunity to help define the next generation of energy efficient school buildings for New York City and beyond.” Bruce Barrett, Vice President of Architecture & Engineering and others at the SCA have described their intentions for this project as follows: “Using this unique project as a vehicle, the SCA will explore new and higher levels of sustainability by embarking on the construction of a Net Zero Energy School Building. Recognizing Mayor Bloomberg’s and New York City’s commitment to sustainability in general, and to energy conservation specifically, we have challenged ourselves to go beyond building code and design standards to realize innovative energy and carbon reductions exceeding our current achievements. We want to push the envelope on this advanced green project, which will be our ‘sustainability lab.’ It is understood that not all of the lessons learned from this exercise will be applicable on a broad scale, however this exploration into ultimate sustainability and the subsequent evaluation of our exercise will provide benefits to our School Design Program that would otherwise not be realized.” “Reaching the ambitious goal of net zero energy consumption would not be possible without the collaboration of our consultants, in particular In:Posse and AKF,” states Chris McCready, AIA, Director of SOM’s Education Lab and project manager of P.S. 62. “We’d like to recognize all the members of our project team for their contribution: In:Posse, AKF Group, Center for Architecture Science & Ecology, DeSimone Consulting Engineers, Philip Habib and Associates, Langan Engineering and Environmental Services, Mark K. Morrison Landscape Architecture, Brandston Partnership Inc, Pentagram, Shen Milsom & Wilke, Harvey Marshall Berling Associates, Design 2147 Ltd., Van Deusen & Associates, VJ Associates, and Hopkins Foodservice Specialists.” SOM is a leader in sustainable design and net zero energy innovation, creating sustainable solutions for a wide variety of clients, including schools. Highlights of SOM’s own sustainable design work include the net zero energy strategy for Pearl River Tower in China, currently under construction, and the University Center for the New School in New York City. SOM has also exhibited its leadership in this area in its collaboration with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, called the Center for Architectural Science and Ecology (CASE), which is dedicated to applying the latest scientific research to today’s sustainable design challenges. At CASE, multi-disciplinary scientists, researchers, and design professionals, work together to design, develop and implement next-generation systems within actual building projects as research test beds. SOM’s Education Lab has also built an outstanding portfolio of K-12 public and independent schools – including the Brunswick School in Greenwich, CT, Burr Street School in Fairfield, CT and others in New York City and throughout the Northeast. SOM Education Lab, the firm’s innovative education design practice is based in SOM’s New York office and led by Design Partner Roger Duffy, FAIA and Education Lab Director Chris McCready, AIA. The Education Lab’s tightly focused core group of designers also benefits from research and design initiatives that emerge from other design studios within SOM New York’s office.