Hickory Hills K-8 School

The new Hickory Hills K-8 school is located at east Division and Farm Road 193 near the Lakes at Wild Horse subdivision. The twenty-two acre site accommodates the new school building, a soccer field, a football field, a softball field, playground and required parking.

With sustainability always a part of the design process, the school board decided to take the next step and pursue LEED
certification. The project is designed to achieve 40-43 points, placing the building in the silver category for LEED for schools
certification. Throughout the design process, achieving LEED points was never the primary goal; the real goal was making smart sustainable decisions that would result in a great building for the Springfield Public Schools school district and the community. A focus was placed on sustainable solutions
that offer direct economic payback and benefit the occupants of the building.

Olsson Associates designed a heating and cooling system that is 40% more efficient than what is minimally required account for the majority of the economic payback. While this system is initially more expensive it will pay for itself in just seven to ten years. Olsson's design also utilized water efficient plumbing fixtures and energy efficient lighting also contribute to lower operating costs, as well as fresh air ventilation, low-V.O.C. emitting finishes, and superior day-lighting contribute to a better indoor environment for students and faculty. Additionally an insulated, translucent roof over the hallways will bring sunlight in to areas of the building that typically rely solely on artificial light.

Olsson also designed a permanent wetland basin, located on the northwest corner of the site that controls both the quality and quantity of stormwater, using most of it onsite, as opposed to piping it elsewhere. This feature, and several others, will be utilized not only by the students and faculty, but will be a contribution to the community, making the new Hickory Hills K-8 School truly a public project.

Olsson Associates provided construction administration for the $17.8 million Hickory Hills Middle School project.

Olsson's civil/site layout and landscape design work followed the firm's previous work to design the school's mechanical and electrical systems. The distinctions honor varying levels of achievement in sustainable practices. Like other middle schools, Hickory Hills has a gymnasium and an auditorium, but it also incorporates a commons area used as a cafeteria during school hours and available as community meeting space after hours.

Olsson's design approach dovetails with the "green" methods used in this project. Independent systems are used to condition outdoor air required for ventilation. The outdoor air units incorporate recovery devices to save energy from the air leaving the building and return it to air entering the building.

A number of stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs) also will be put in place on this project. The BMPs include the following:

Installing depressed islands to slow down and treat runoff from the school's parking lot

Placing a greenhouse and plants on the school's roof, and a cistern to collect and store rainwater for the plants-reducing the amount of rooftop runoff

Creating rain gardens with native plantings to treat a portion of the roof water and to provide a real life model the school can use to educate students about water quality,plant life, and water conservation

Using grass swales and wetlands to treat water from the parking lot and roof

Using storage capacity in the wetlands to temporarily detain runoff from bigger storms and prevent any negative impacts
downstream

Olsson Associates is proud to be part of this important LEED design project and is pleased to continue its strong relationship with Springfield Public Schools.