Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 24, 2016 | Ferndale Record
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2016 PROGRESS
Designing the schools of today For new buildings in Lynden and Nooksack Valley districts, expect modernized designs By Tim Newcomb tim@lyndentribune.com
WHATCOM — A lot changes in 50 years. Quite a lot. School design has changed along with the times, and as both the Lynden and Nooksack Valley school districts undertake massive construction projects, patrons of the two systems can expect modernized designs when the new schools open. Lynden is building new middle and elementary schools and Nooksack Valley is building a new middle school and upgrading portions of both an elementary school and the high school. Terry Brown, architect for Bellingham’s Zervas Group, the firm responsible for the Nooksack projects and Fisher Elementary School, said that most of the schools replaced today are about 50 years old. There have been great safety and security changes in that time. There have been systems and building performance changes. And there have been curriculum-based design changes too. “Just from a building performance perspective, energy usage and codes weren’t a concern back then,” Brown said. “Buildings were hardly insulated and used single-pane windows. The building envelope was very poor from an energy performance level. Now that is a much bigger deal.” Along with creating an energy-efficient building envelope with mechanical systems on par with modern codes and standards, Brown said, design also takes in seismic considerations. But these are all behind-the-scenes decisions that students and parents won’t see, even if they
Zervas Group architects are currently working on projects for Lynden and Nooksack Valley school districts after doing projects such as Irene Reither Elementary in the Meridian School District. (Courtesy photo/Zervas Group) do improve overall safety and efficiency. Another ever-shifting design consideration relates to security. Using best practices derived from first responders involved in school security threats, new thinking has arisen recently. Brown said
the idea of a lock-down-and-hide strategy was initially thought the most effective in keeping children safe. But the latest research shows that while it creates a headache for tracking students, the runand-scatter philosophy is the preferred
method, which means that a school’s architect needs to take into account issues of exiting a building and creating visibility for movement through the building. In the end, though, whether with security or efficiency in mind, the root of all
2016 Progress Report Celebrating Years in Business 6 Years
Imhof Automotive
2869 W. 63rd Ln. • Ferndale Over 30 years in automotive experience 393-8938
5 Years
EPL Feed
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Congratulations to these businesses on their years of service to the community!