ENERGY STAR Building Design Profile

St. Thomas School's primary goal for its new building was to create an optimum learning environment for students and have a facility that provides maximum longevity. To this end, the school worked with Bassetti Architects to design an energy-efficient 55,000-square-foot K–12 building in Medina, WA. Environmental stewardship falls within St. Thomas School's mission, which is "to develop responsible citizens of a global society." Bassetti Architects also seeks to make sustainability and a reduced ecological footprint key design goals.

St. Thomas School and Bassetti Architects used EPA's Target Finder tool as the metric for assessing the expected energy efficiency of their project and communicating it to the community. The building rated 82 out of 100 in Target Finder and achieved Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR. It is expected to use 28 percent less energy than an average comparable building.

St. Thomas hopes that its new building design raises interest in the local community and encourages others to participate in energy efficiency efforts. The project offers a natural opportunity to teach environmental responsibility and energy savings by example.

Design elements that make St. Thomas School energy-efficient include: natural ventilation, high-efficiency boilers, and thorough insulation of exterior walls to increase the overall performance of the building envelope. Air conditioning is limited to certain areas in the building, which reduces overall energy use. The building is also oriented to take advantage of daylighting in all classrooms, and high efficiency lamps with occupancy sensors are being installed.

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