Breaking New Ground
Gifts to the Breaking New Ground effort will help Pilot provide a learning environment that seamlessly combines the wonders of the campus with the technology of the building. Meeting the Challenge of a New School When the current Pilot School building was constructed in 1965 it was at the forefront of facilities designed to help children with learning differences. Five decades later, Pilot s most important teaching areas had become increasingly inefficient. Some of the school s key rooms especially the gymnasium, multi-purpose room, swimming pool and music room had long outlived their usefulness, having been used daily by 160 students and dozens of teachers for many years. The physical facility had also become very costly in terms of upkeep and energy consumption. Equally important, the implementation of interactive teaching methods and the use of technologies for programs and therapies delivered across Pilot s curriculum were constantly impeded by the design and configuration of the old building. Determined to have the best possible teaching environment for Pilot students and teachers, Pilot s leaders began to plan for an initial $11,500,000 fund raising campaign A Cornerstone for the Future as part of a larger initiative to build a state-of-the-art educational campus a quarter mile from the current site. The new school will be 25 percent larger than the current one, but constructed as a partial two-story structure to maximize energy efficiency and limit the building s footprint. Energy costs will be 30 percent less than the current building. Environmentally responsible design and materials will be utilized and an information technology system will be networked throughout the facility. When completed, the building and surrounding campus will be a compelling, child-centered environment in which integrated indooroutdoor learning experiences will provide many opportunities for students. Thinking, reasoning, observational and problem solving skills can flourish in the living, breathing classrooms of fields, woods, terraces, hills and streams, and nurture growth and greater involvement in the learning process. The campaign committee was delighted when a small group of parents volunteered to spearhead the completion of the $11,500,000 goal by raising the remaining $65,000 in fall 2012.
Education, Inside and Outside With the anticipated achievement of the fund raising goal, turning their sights to the acres of open land surrounding the new building, the Campaign Committee s plans from early in the campaign to approach an additional group of individuals and foundations are ready to be launched. The overarching purpose of this fund raising effort, Breaking New Ground, is to support the creation of an interactive, multisensory outdoor learning environment which complements what is happening on the inside of the building. Children will learn about water stewardship practices, observe and study seasonal changes and cycles of life while monitoring the school s heating and cooling systems, and even tracking Pilot s energy and water usage. Lesson plans will link content learned in the classroom, utilizing the wonders of the internet and other technologies, with experiential, hands-on learning in nearby fields and streams. In the planning for and construction of a school designed to maximize a dramatically different approach to both teaching and learning, three critical elements have to be developed, and then integrated. Essential Elements For A New Pilot School Campus design Integrated multi-sensory Environmental responsibility Energy efficiency construction costs Highest value for least cost financial forecast What Pilot can afford to build Through years of planning and evaluating, the leadership of The Pilot School has done due diligence in all three areas. That sound, integrated approach has earned the confidence of nearly 500 foundations, corporations and individuals. These donors to Pilot s Cornerstone campaign have been instrumental and generous in the creation of a state-of-the-art school in which excited students will learn in new ways. Gifts to the Breaking New Ground effort will help Pilot provide a learning environment that seamlessly combines the wonders of the campus with the technology of the building. Natural Elements Designing a campus where interior and exterior spaces meet programmatic challenges yet function as an integrated whole has been the mantra of the planning team. The combination of a detailed site analysis and thorough programmatic research produced the platform used to envision the school experience from a child s eyes. The location and orientation of each room within the school unfold to provide experiences such as panoramic views of the stream valleys below the science room, walls of glass that look out toward the woodlands to create a serene experience in the library, and a welcoming hall area that seamlessly flows out onto outdoor classrooms and gathering spaces. Details such as angling exterior windows to best receive natural lighting and direct the eye to the most inspirational views became part of the planning process for each room. Science classes can use the windows as a transparent dry erase board, tracing the movement of the water off the property and down the streams plainly visible below. Students can diagram the path of nutrients and life giving oxygen as they move through the 100 foot tree visible over the instructor s shoulder. Learning spaces needing natural light along with those requiring a particular adjacency complete the organization of the building s layout. Fifty acres offer many opportunities for learning about the intricacies and stewardship of the natural world while providing boundless options for inventive play. Art classes with found materials, the sculpture of woven branches that become a sheltering home for birds, or climbing on rocks to be king of the hill are but a few examples of a child s world meant to be explored.
It All Begins With Water With so many acres of life and beauty on which to create a school campus, environmental stewardship became one of the key motivators in the creative process. The site offers extensive environmental education opportunities but how do we integrate the physical structure and its supporting systems into the overall message of stewardship? As with life, it begins with water. The surrounding meadows, woodlands, wetlands and streams on the property are entirely dependent upon ample, clean water. From the moment a drop of rain arrives, it begins its journey toward enhancing these resources while educating our students. The building s roofs will carry water to one of two plant-based treatment systems. First is the green roof which is a vegetated system that absorbs water briefly enough to permit plants to store it before releasing it back into the atmosphere as they breathe out life-giving oxygen. Second are the rain gardens that will surround the school, integrate into the play spaces, and wind their way through the meadows to the streams below. At the beginning of this journey dramatic downspouts deliver rain to the system through splashing and squirting sculptural forms that spring to life before discharging to playful channels connecting to the rain gardens. Landscaped beds of vibrant native flowers, grasses, trees and shrubs slow the flow of water and filter out pollutants. When the flow is such that the rain gardens overflow, it swirls down through swales planted with wildflowers and grasses to deliver clean runoff to Hurricane Run. These natural systems maximize the performance of the site s landscape for clean runoff and bring the message of water to the surface for the children to experience. Each rain garden can be a nursery for a monarch butterfly, a nest for cardinals, as well as a lesson in the stewardship of our watershed. Energy Significantly reducing the school s consumption of energy has been one of the primary factors in the campus planning process. Integrating high performance walls and windows with cutting edge heating, ventilating, cooling, and electrical systems is anticipated to reduce current energy dependence by more than 30 percent. While the old building smartly placed the majority of learning spaces to the south, the new facility wraps itself along the warmest exposures thereby maximizing solar gain. Window placement along the top of northern facing walls in the multi-purpose room, pool, gym, and some of the hallways will take advantage of the soft natural lighting to dramatically reduce daytime lighting demands. Smart systems integrated into the school will enable better control of individual spaces to adjust for room population and climatic conditions. Portions of the roof have been provided with green roof technology that offers superior insulating properties and fire protection as well as a fifty year service life. Contemporary building systems will be positioned where they can be most effective and easily serviced, while reducing expenses associated with long duct or pipe runs. An element absent from the building s energy program is geothermal heating and cooling. This item is not only the final link between the building and site but a key component to reduced dependency on external energy sources. As energy costs continue to rise, a geothermal based system becomes more than a message of reducing our impact on the broader environment. It becomes a critical component of Pilot s long term energy strategy. We are seeking a project partner and sponsor for this component of our new campus and hope to find the support for this link to our mission of energy conservation. Children will learn about water stewardship practices, observe and study seasonal changes and cycles of life while monitoring the school s heating and cooling systems, and even tracking Pilot s energy and water usage.
Photos by Drew Hayes, Site Engineer, ForeSite Associates The Pilot School s mission is to uncover the unique educational challenges of each student, and to give each child the specific developmental tools, guidance, and attention needed to learn, achieve, and ultimately to feel comfortable and be successful in the academic environment that is most appropriate. For online giving or more information, visit www.pilotschool.org or contact us at: 100 Garden of Eden Road Wilmington, Delaware 19803