About This Project

Monticello on a tight budget with green construction.

This 19,000 square foot charter school in Cottonwood, Arizona, is certainly unique. When I first met the headmaster of the school, he held up a picture of Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello and said “this is what we want” – he takes his school’s title very seriously and proudly. My input, given that operating costs would play a significant role in the success of the school, was to be as energy efficient as possible. In league with the project manager Mack Coker, we met all their needs. The entire school is built of SIP panels – roofs, exterior walls, and interior partitions. Further, all classrooms, including the gym, are taken to full natural daylight using skylights. Additional lighting, controlled by light sensors, only comes on when (very rarely in the daytime), and with fixtures, needed. As such, utility bills for this school are, during some months, in the range of those for a large custom home. And the total building cost was roughly ½ what it would have been with construction typical to school construction, while the time to build took only 10+ months, similar to that required for a large custom home.