Monument Valley Regional Middle School, Berkshire Hills Regional School District
(Monument Valley Regional Middle School)
Overview
- Location: Great Barrington, MA
- Building type(s): K-12 education, Campus
- New construction
- 78,000 ft2 (7,250 m2)
- Project scope: 2-story building
- Rural setting
- Completed September 2005
- Rating: Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) CA 2002 Edition --Level: 37 points
The Berkshire Hills School District started the process of building a new school over 25 years ago after recognizing that existing school facilities were in disrepair. After years of deliberation and negotiations between the community and the School Board, the district decided to build two new schools, one of which was Monument Valley Regional Middle School (MVRMS). Ground was officially broken on September 13, 2003 on twenty acres next to the district high school in Great Barrington. The middle school opened in September of 2005.
Environmental Aspects
The community and the school board agreed to incorporate renewable energy systems into the new middle school. The building has photovoltaic solar panels and a geothermal well system, along with energy efficiency measures and technologies including lighting controls, natural daylighting, an energy efficient building envelope and insulation exceeding Massachusetts building code requirements, and a high-efficiency HVAC system.
The school also has environmentally-conscious landscaping that was designed to conserve resources and maintain biodiversity and landscape connectivity. Grounds are managed using natural lawn care practices and are planted with native vegetation.
Owner & Occupancy
- Owned by Berkshire Hills Regional School District, Local government
- Occupants: Individual(s)
- Typically occupied by 350 people, 36 hours per person per week
Monument Valley Regional Middle School is a grades 5-8 education facility. The school accommodates approximately 300 students and 45 faculty members. It operates during normal school working hours from Monday through Friday.
Building Programs
Indoor Spaces: |
Classroom (45%), Circulation (15%), Gymnasium (15%), Public assembly (10%), Office (10%), Cafeteria (5%) |
Outdoor Spaces: |
Pedestrian/non-motorized vehicle path, Parking, Drives/roadway, Playground, Patio/hardscape |
Keywords
Green framework, Green specifications, Contracting, Commissioning, Water harvesting, On-site renewable electricity, Connection to outdoors, Daylighting, Natural ventilation, Ventilation effectiveness, Low-emitting materials, Indoor air quality monitoring
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