FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Green Dot Contact:
Beth Mills, Eric Lamoureux, Laurel Goddard Tracy Mallozzi
916-376-5036 310-280-3710
tracy@therosegrp.com
Monica Nakamine, Osborn Architects
818-246-3112
California Awards First ‘Green Schools' Grant to Ánimo Venice Charter High School
SACRAMENTO - The Department of General Services' Office of Public School Construction (OPSC) announced today that the State Allocation Board (SAB) has awarded a $107,000 to Ánimo Venice Charter High School in Los Angeles. Ánimo Venice is the first school to receive a grant from the High Performance Incentive Grant program, which earmarks $100 million for "green" school projects funded by Proposition 1D. The High Performance Incentive Grant is part of the $15.6 million the Board has awarded Ánimo Venice to fund the construction of the new campus, scheduled to begin in April.
"Green schools greatly improve the learning environments for kids while helping California meet Governor Schwarzenegger's goals for environmental responsibility," said Anne Sheehan, SAB Chair and Chief Deputy Director of Policy at the Department of Finance.
In December 2004, Gov. Schwarzenegger signed Executive Order S-20-04, ushering in the State's Green Building Initiative. The Executive Order encourages schools built with State funds to be energy-efficient, while creating safer and healthier learning environments.
"Energy efficiency is a key element in the design of California's schools, and studies show that students attending green schools are healthier and more productive," said Rob Cook, Executive Officer of the SAB/OPSC. "These schools emphasize a comfortable environment, full of natural light and air, with gardens, natural shading, reduced noise levels and lowered chemical emission rates from elements such as floor and wall coverings and janitorial products."
"High performance schools save money, preserve precious resources and demonstrate the importance of sustainability to our children," said John Sun, Director of Real Estate Development for Green Dot Public Schools.
Sustainability was a critical factor in designing the Ánimo Venice campus. Osborn Architects, the Los Angeles-based architect firm that designed the school, incorporated several "green" features in various aspects of the facility and campus life. These features include:
- Innovative day lighting - reducing the need for artificial lighting;
- Drought-tolerant landscaping - decreasing the demand for water within a water-use budget;
- A rooftop photovoltaic grid - generating solar power;
- An efficient mechanical system - exceeding Title-24 standards;
- Implementation of quality acoustics - conducive within a dense urban environment;
- An outdoor "paseo" - enhancing socialization and encouraging outdoor use; and
- A compact footprint - reducing sprawl and revitalizing an underutilized urban site.
California's High Performance Incentive Grant program promotes high-performing sustainable building practices, so that a school's infrastructure and materials maximize energy efficiency. The regulations for the program include a High Performance Rating Criteria modeled after the Collaborative for High Performance Schools program. OPSC uses criteria to determine the high performance attributes in a project and to assign a score that correlates to the increased amount of funding a project receives. The high performance grants will provide incentives of between 2 - 10 percent of the base grant for high performance facilities.
About the State Allocation Board, Office of Public School Construction
As staff to the State Allocation Board, the Office of Public School Construction facilitates the processing of school applications and makes funding available to qualifying school districts. These actions enable school districts to build safe and adequate school facilities for their children in an expeditious and cost-effective manner.
About Green Dot Public Schools
Green Dot Public Schools is the leading public school operator in Los Angeles and is dedicated to changing public education in Los Angeles so that all children receive the educations they need to reach their dreams. It currently operates twelve public charter high schools in Los Angeles' highest-need communities. Each Green Dot school (branded "Ánimo" schools) vastly outperforms comparable traditional public high schools. For more information visit: www.greendot.org
About Osborn Architects
Throughout its history, Osborn (www.osborn320.com), a multidisciplinary design practice, has sought clients and projects that emphasize change as an essential element of community development. Based in the Greater Los Angeles area, the firm has been privileged to work with many groups at the forefront of their industries in promoting progressive solutions to traditional challenges. These relationships have sponsored a design process that mines opportunity from very pragmatic criteria embedded in projects. As a result, Osborn has won 10 local and state American Institute of Architecture (AIA) awards in the last five years from a portfolio that includes schools, civic centers, parks, libraries and many non-profit sector projects.
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