Construction Materials and Design Stress Energy Efficiency

The facade of the school is making use of many recycled materials, including: flyash (a waste byproduct of coal-burning power plants) in place of Portland cement; aluminum panels made from 92 percent recycled material; wood siding made of sinker cypress hauled from the bottom of the Mississippi River; and red bricks reclaimed from a 19th century warehouse in San Antonio.

The new building will benefit from important features designed to reduce energy consumption to 46 percent less than current energy codes.

"The construction costs of 'going green' typically run two percent to five percent higher than a conventional building," campus architect Rives Taylor said. "However, many improvements repay their costs within a few years via energy savings--just as this building is projected to operate 50-60 percent more efficiently than a traditional classroom building in Houston."

Read more...