Arbor View High School

In order to keep pace with Southern Nevada’s rapid population growth, the Clark County School District site-adapts prototype designs for their new schools. This approach enables the District to meet budget and schedule requirements. Since the completion of the first prototype high schools in 1991, curriculum changes and new standards for daylighting and energy efficiency resulted in a number of design adaptations, all of which were incorporated into this new prototype design.

Located at the main entry, a dramatic interior plaza serves as the hub of student activity for this closed campus. The large multipurpose space at the heart of the school is equipped with wireless web capabilities. This area of the school acts as a thermal buffer between the classroom blocks and helps dampen temperature swings in the adjacent spaces. An innovative mechanical system allows the mall to be treated as a semi-conditioned space, cooled with reclaimed air that would normally be exhausted outdoors from the classrooms. At night, when temperatures fall below 80 degrees, the mechanical system draws in 100 percent fresh air to pre-cool the mall. Thermal mass in the masonry walls and stained concrete floors helps combat temperature increases throughout the day.

To reduce energy costs, classrooms with exterior windows are equipped with daylight sensors to reduce electric lighting when appropriate natural light levels exist. Occupancy sensors in each classroom turn the lights off when a space is not in use, and the entire interior lighting system is automatically turned off when the building alarm is set.