Summer is here and with it comes higher temperatures. Keeping our school buildings cool this time of year and warm in the winter is essential to maintaining a healthy, comfortable learning environment for our students.  

At this month’s School Building Committee meeting, the project team highlighted its work to evaluate options for the new building’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system as part of the design process. 

The team also discussed how passive solar design can be used to reduce HVAC-associated energy needs. 

This month's newsletter:

• Design Process/MSBA Update - HVAC Evaluation and Project Sustainability Goals
• Community Design Workshop #3 - Designing for Neurodiversity (Friday, 6/26)
• Zoom-in: Mass Timber Framing

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at newschool@somervillema.gov. 

Sustainably Heating and Cooling Our New School

Determining how we will heat and cool the building is a critical component of work to ensure our new school meets Somerville’s sustainability goals.   

As part of work to advance design during the Preferred Schematic Report (PSR) phase of the process, project architects, Perkins Eastman, along with mechanical engineering consultants, reviewed various options for HVAC systems under consideration for the building, including electric ground-source heat pumps, electric air-source heat pumps, or a combination of both types.  

Example of various HVAC options for the new building. 
Watch the recording or view the slides here to learn more about these systems.

Mass School Building Authority (MSBA) Next Steps

In late August, the City’s project team plans to submit to the state the preferred schematic report, which will formally convey a single, preferred option for the building.  

Community Design Workshop - Designing for Neurodiversity

Join a collaborative virtual workshop focused on ensuring the new building provides a welcoming and supportive environment for all students – with a focus in this session on the needs of our neurodiverse student population.  

When? Friday, June 26, from 10 to 11 a.m.  

Where? On Zoom. Visit somervillema.gov/newschool to attend.  

The goal of this session is to better understand the community’s vision for how the building can best meet the needs of its neurodiverse student population. Discussions will focus on the application of Universal Design principles to provide supportive learning environments, facilitate movement, aide sensory regulation, and more.  

The feedback gathered will be used by the City’s project team and architects to help inform design work moving forward. 

While Mass Timber does not (in this case) refer to trees felled in the state of Massachusetts, it does mean using prefabricated, high-strength, bonded layers of wood in places where steel or concrete would traditionally be used.  

Benefits of Mass Timber framing along with images of examples projects as shared during the June 8th School Building Committee meeting. Watch the recording or view the slides here. 

Mass Timber stores carbon and reduces a building’s footprint by 50%-60%. It also benefits indoor air quality and supports the wellbeing of building occupants.  

Interested in learning more? Watch the project team's recent presentation on Mass Timber framing at the School Building Committee for more on the potential benefits, construction implications, and examples of local buildings that have used this approach.