Add as a preferred source on Google

Enhances School Interior

  • 08/01/14
Daylighting

Solatube helped bring daylight to the Newington High School library during a major renovation.

Until recently, Newington High School in Newington, CT, hadn’t been updated for 40 years. Its media center, centrally located within the building and surrounded by corridors and classrooms, had no openings facing the exterior and, thus, no daylight.

Enter Solatube International, Inc. and the company’s “Operation Textbook” program, which provides tubular daylighting devices (TDDs) to Pre K-12 school districts and higher education institutions interested in adding daylight to their facilities.

Architect Kevin Lipe, AIA, LEED-AP, with Jacunski Humes Architects, knew that Newington High School was a perfect fit for the program. Working closely with Willco Sales& Service, the Solatube commercial distributor for New England, they installed a number of Solatube SolaMaster 750 DS-C units to bring daylight into the school’s darkest spaces.

“Since the media center was one story, penetrations from the roof yielded immediate openings into the space below and made the decision to use Solatube Daylighting Systems quite simple,” Lipe says.

Once ceiling grids and electrical lighting (for night hours) were worked out, the units were positioned for the greatest dispersion of natural light throughout the room. Diffusers laid into the grid gave units the same appearance as recessed fluorescents. Units were also clustered in gathering areas, such as the circulation department and quiet reading areas.

“I was impressed with the difference natural daylight brought to the room. Before the project, turning off the room lights left most of the space in darkness and brought to a stop whatever activities were underway. Now, turning off the lights causes an almost imperceptible change to light levels and activities continue on uninterrupted,” Lipe says. “Solatube Daylighting Systems greatly enhance the quality of ambient light throughout the space without shadows, glare or direct sun.”

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • Embry-Riddle Breaks Ground on New Office Building

    Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) in Daytona Beach, Fla., recently announced that construction has begun on a new office building for its campus Research Park, according to a news release. The university partnered with Hoar Construction on the 34,740-square-foot Center for Aerospace Technology II (CAT II), which will be used for research and lab purposes.

  • Uvalde Schools Receive AI Security Technology through Grant Program

    AI-powered gun detection and emergency response technology solutions provider Omnilert recently launched the Save Haven Grant program, according to a news release. The first recipient of the grant, aimed specifically at schools that have faced gun violence, will be the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District (Uvalde CISD) in Uvalde, Texas.

  • UC Riverside Completes $285M, Multi-School Student Housing Development

    The University of California, Riverside, recently announced the completion of a $285-million student housing complex offering 1,568 beds across 429 units, according to a news release.

  • Longwood University Selects Builder for $73M Performing Arts Center

    Longwood University in Farmville, Va., recently announced that it has selected Swedish construction company Skanska as the builder of its new performing arts center, according to online news. The project involves the demolition of the current building and constructing a new, 64,500-square-foot facility.

Digital Edition