Welcome to HickoryRecord.com. Skip directly to: our Keyword Search, Section Navigation, Content.

HickoryRecord.com - Hickory Daily Record

HomeNewsEntertainmentSportsLifestylesOpinionCommunityWeather Online Tools Jobs | Real Estate | Shopping | Classified

New middle school will seek highest level of 'greenness'

By Sarah Newell Williamson | Hickory Daily Record

Published: November 10, 2009

NEWTON - Newton-Conover City Schools' board of education members got a comprehensive look at the designs for their new middle school on Tuesday, which the school system hopes will be LEED certified.

The new middle school will be built at 873 Northern Drive in northwest Conover. Based off the design of Northview and Grandview middle schools in the Hickory Public Schools system, Newton-Conover City Schools is hoping their school will achieve platinum level in the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System, the highest level possible, said Tom Balke, the principal architect with Little Diversified Architects.

The certification covers the design, construction and execution of a building. There are categories for every aspect of a building, with a point value assigned for each of the green criteria a builder includes in the design. After a building is constructed, it is certified by a third party to determine if it meets all the criteria of a LEED building.

Green elements to be incorporated into the school include maximization of open space, the type of roof used, reduced light pollution, protected habitat, water-efficient landscaping, minimum energy use and on-site renewable energy.

The building, which is estimated to cost $21 million, will hold 800 students or up to 950 with a six-classroom addition.

The school is designed to have student drop-off in the front of the school and bus parking in the rear.

There will be football, softball, baseball and soccer fields and the option of tennis courts to be built in the future.

The first level features classrooms, a teachers' lounge, cafeteria with lots of windows and a gym. There's also a courtyard.

The second level has the media center with lots of windows, the administration area, guidance area, classrooms, auditorium and art and choral classrooms.

The third level features computer labs, a dance and drama room, classrooms, a teachers' lounge and career and tech classrooms.

Board member Scott Loudermelt quizzed Balke about the safety of students at the school.

"Students come in through the central staircase, which is near the administration area," Balke said. "There's also hardware on all the doors so people can't just come in. People have to go through the front door to get in. It's a simple circulation design."

The school system will seek bids for the new school in January, and will receive them in February. The bids should be awarded in March. The new middle school is scheduled to be ready in time for the 2012-13 school year.