Lucy School plans new eco-friendly building

With its geothermal heating, rainwater filtration system and use of recycled and eco-friendly materials, the two-story 6,500-square-foot building will have more green features than any other school building in Frederick County.

The school broke ground for the building on Monday and it plans to open doors for students in fall 2008.

It will offer a nature-inspired environment, built from toxin-free, mold-resistant and energy-efficient components, said director Victoria Brown, who owns the private, arts-based school with her husband, Christopher Zachariadis.

‘‘We had a vision for this school,” Brown said. ‘‘This is very exciting.”

The new building fits the nature-oriented concept of The Lucy School, which is located on a 17-acre farm with wetlands, a pond, a greenhouse and organic garden off of Frostown Road in Middletown.

The school serves 75 students in preschool to second grade. It offers hands-on education with a focus on the arts and the environment.

The school opened in fall 2002 in a 19th century barn, already designed to incorporate some ‘‘green” concepts. The new building will build on these features.

For instance, the new building will take maximum advantage of daylight by incorporating an extraordinary amount of windows in its design. But it will also use light tubes – a system of pipes and mirrors that channels additional natural light into the classroom, said Michael Summers of HarneBowen Architects, the company that developed the project.

‘‘They look like regular light fixtures, but they (give out) natural light,” he said. ‘‘There have been a lot of studies suggesting that kids learn better when there is more natural light.”

The new school will save water using motion-activated sinks, low-flush toilets and a system capturing rainwater for indoor use.

The stone-and-wood building will be constructed from materials available locally, which causes minimal damage to the environment, Summers said. Stone for the base of the building will come from Bethesda and recycled timber will be delivered from Pennsylvania. The school may also use cork from live trees instead of carpets on the floor.

Once the building is completed, the U.S. Green Building Council will evaluate the building according to the criteria of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) – a rating system providing an accountability checklist for green buildings. A building can be given a silver, gold or platinum rating, depending on how safe it is for the environment. The Lucy School is shooting for the highest possible rating -- platinum -- Summers said.

That means the school could cost about 10 percent more than a regular school building.

‘‘Green does cost more,” he said. ‘‘But it is going to pay off in the long run.”

Because green buildings are so energy efficient, they end up saving a lot in utility bills. They are also eligible for a number of tax incentives created to encourage developers to build green.

At this point, Zachariadis hopes the cost for the project to stay at no more than $200 per square foot. The school plans to finance the project through a combination of loans and grants.

Once it is completed, the new building will allow The Lucy School to separate its preschool from primary school programs. Students in preschool will remain in the original building and kindergarten to second grade will be moved into the new structure.

The new building will have classrooms on the second floor and an art room, a music room and a multi-purpose room on the first.

While that will supply the school with additional space, Zachariadis and his wife intend to keep the schools’ student body at less than 120 and retain its focus on primary-level education, Zachariadis said.

Rather than expansion, the primary goal of the green project was to provide students with a safe and healthy environment and teach them to care for nature, he said.

‘‘It is going to be a healthy place for children to be learning,” he said. ‘‘By doing it green, we are thinking of their future.”

For more information about The Lucy School, go online to www.lucyschool.com or call 301-293-1163.