Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

More Color Means More Flexibility in Learning

  • 04/01/16
Interface classroom improvements

More color and better IAQ were two of the benefits Interface offered designers at the Fred and Sara Machetanz Elementary School.

The Fred and Sara Machetanz Elementary School in Wasilla was the first school in Alaska to receive the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Certification, earning silver. Backed by that honor, the school, located in a former gravel pit and named after a prominent Alaskan painter and his wife, has emerged as a pioneer for sustainability in the Matanuska Susitna Borough.

Brought in by Anchorage-based architectural firm McCool Carlson Green, Interior Designer Cathy Kerr made sure Interface was a component in the journey. High-recycled content products contributed to the more than 30 percent total recycled content needed for the building to achieve its LEED certification. Plus, Interface products help maintain an increased indoor air quality in the school since tiles install —with no glue and meet the highest standards for indoor air quality. And then there’s the aesthetics. Kerr carefully selected bold color combinations to contrast against Alaska’s monochromatic winter landscape while creating a stimulating learning environment.

According to Kerr, there’s some science behind the color scheme at this award winning elementary school. “I designed the interior of the school so that we used colors from all the segments of the color wheel,” she says. “We know that people respond better in a full color spectrum environment. Students learn more with color in their environment as opposed to white everywhere. So with that in mind I went searching for the perfect carpet tile to do that, and I found Interface.”

The result was an all around win, says Mat-Su Borough Facilities Manager Don Carney. “We liked the design so much that we’re going to build two more using that as a prototype.”

www.interface.com

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • T&T Construction Management Group Completes Pasco High School Expansion

    Pasco High School in Dade City, Fla., recently announced that it has completed an expansion project in partnership with T&T Construction Management Group, Inc., Harvard Jolly Architecture, and Williams Company.

  • Preparing for the Next Era of Healthcare Education, Innovation

    Across the country, public universities and community colleges are accelerating investments in healthcare education facilities as part of a broader strategy to address workforce shortages, modernize outdated infrastructure, and expand clinical training capacity. These projects, which are often located at the center of campus health and science districts, are no longer limited to traditional classrooms.

  • Different Starting Points, Same End Goal

    Higher education campuses can enhance student experience by implementing mobile credentials to streamline building access, on-campus payments, and access to other amenities. This enables students to connect to their campuses through the technology they use most: their mobile devices.

  • Photo credit: Elkus Manfredi Architects

    University of Virginia Selects Design-Build Team for New Residential Complex

    The University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va., recently announced that it has selected a design-build team for a new upper-class residential development on campus, according to a news release. Capstone Development Partners—in partnership with Elkus Manfredi Architects and the Hoar Construction/Hourigan construction team—will move forward with the three-building, 310,000-square-foot housing facility.