“The Kathleen Grimm School for Leadership and Sustainability at Sandy Ground, also known as P.S. 62, is the first net-zero-energy school in New York City and one of the first of its kind worldwide. The 68,000-square-foot, two-story school serves 444 pre-kindergarten through fifth grade students. The cutting-edge building harvests as much energy from renewable on-site sources as it uses on an annual basis.
Designed to comply with the SCA Green Schools Guide in lieu of LEED certification, the project is the NYC School Construction Authority’s first “sustainability lab.” This exploration into ultimate sustainability will provide substantial benefits to the City’s School Design Program and help achieve PlaNYC goals for significant reductions in global warming emissions. SOM’s design offers an energy-use reduction of 50% over a SCA standard public school.

SOM optimized the orientation and massing of the courtyard-shaped building to take advantage of sunlight for both ample daylighting and photovoltaic arrays (1,997 solar panels) on the roof and south facade. Other sustainable and low-energy features incorporated in the design include an ultra-tight high-performance building envelope, daylit offset corridors, energy-efficient lighting fixtures, low-energy kitchen equipment, a greenhouse and vegetable garden, a geo-exchange system, energy recovery ventilators and demand-control ventilation, and a solar thermal system for hot water.” (Source: SOM)

A Message From Principal Lisa Sarnicola: “Staying true to our goal of being a Net-Zero School, our students will learn how to be sustainability leaders and make conscientious choices that will benefit our larger community. They will learn how to conserve and create energy, recycle, grow their own food and manage a green house.” (Source: PS62si)

Further information can be found from the Arch Daily websites.