Great Falls Middle School/Turners Falls High School
(Gill-Montague School)

Overview

• Location: Montague, MA
• Building type(s): K-12 education, Recreation
• Renovation of a 1971 building
• 196,000 ft2 (18,200 m2)
• Project scope: 3-story building
• Rural setting
• Completed October 2004
  The Gill-Montague Regional School District renovated and built an addition to the Great Falls Middle School and Turners Falls High School; construction began on September 1, 2003 and the official opening and celebration took place on October 24, 2004.

This combined high school and middle school complex serves students from three towns. The original 1971 building is three stories high and includes 153,313 square feet plus an additional 13,433 square feet for the pool. The renovations and the 29,350 square-foot addition were designed to remedy inefficiencies in the existing building and update educational facilities throughout the school. The renovation component of this project involved almost completely gutting the existing building and making major upgrades to the building envelope, systems, and site.

The school is located in western Massachusetts in a community that values sustainability and has significant interest in high-performance buildings.

Environmental Aspects

This project meets the requirements for the Phase 1 Green Schools Pilot Program. The school is CHPS-CA certified with a score of 36 out of 81 possible points (8 points over the minimum required to earn certification). An active green task force contributed to the renovation and addition by researching sustainable alternatives.

Notable high-performance elements of this project include a 34 kW solar photovoltaic system on the pool roof; heat recovery to re-heat pool water; daylighting; and high-efficiency light fixtures, appliances, and heating and cooling equipment. The renovation and expansion emphasized healthy indoor environmental quality, used sustainable construction materials, and recycled construction and demolition waste. Both the middle school and the high school have uniquely integrated and extensive green curriculums.

According to Symmes Maini & McKee Associates (SMMA), the project architects, the building is expected to be 28 percent more energy efficient than a code-compliant school and will avoid nearly $57,000 in energy costs per year. Outputs derived from an energy template designed by Vermont Energy Investment Corporation indicate that this building is designed to be 43.3 percent better than the base case building in terms of total building energy use intensity, and 9.21 percent better in terms of total facility electric energy use intensity. Great Falls Middle School/Turners Falls High School was one of the first Massachusetts Certified Green Schools.

Owner & Occupancy

• Owned by Gill-Montague Regional School District, Local government
• Occupants: Individual(s)
• Typically occupied by 720 people, 35 hours per person per week; and 15 visitors per week, 1 hour per visitor per week

There are approximately 650 students total from both schools and 70 full-time staff. The building was occupied during construction.

Building Programs

Indoor Spaces:	Restrooms, Other, Office, Dining, Conference, Medical treatment, Circulation, Gymnasium, Lobby/reception, Cafeteria, Classroom, Public assembly, Laboratory, Warehouse, Structured parking
Outdoor Spaces:	Drives/roadway, Athletic field, Other

Keywords

Integrated team, Design charrette, Green specifications, Insulation levels, HVAC, Efficient lighting, On-site renewable electricity, Recycled materials, Daylighting, Ventilation effectiveness, Thermal comfort, Low-emitting materials

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