The international development organization CHF Kosovo organized an interesting design competition for a “Green School” in Prishtina. The winning entry of this pilot school, was presented by Urban Plus. An remarkable example for ecological, social and economical sustainability.

Seen at nikomahe.com. More about the project after the break.

Architecture is a practical subject and most buildings were built for the purpose of housing an activity or sheltering objects. It is for this reason that we start by looking at function, space and the internal environment. This Green Schools pilot was designed by Urban Plus is located in Prishtina, Kosovo. The green architecture design is a joint effort of a multidisciplinary team to design a educational building that can work in harmony with the natural environment. 3 are 4 green objectives intended to achieve: reduce energy consumption, create an education polygon on sustainable buildings and renewable energy , promote a healthy learning environment and develop a pilot project that could be replicated in the future.

The concept of the building is generated based on the principles of green architecture in accordance with the and the environment. The two storey entrance atrium provides a feeling of space and light and the staircase clearly indicates the circulation to the learning facilities. Classrooms on the ground floor are directly connected to the garden and can be adapted as an open space air classrooms. In order to minimise solar gain in the late spring and summer, south-facing classrooms have been provided with external shading—lighting shelves that also serve to improve day lighting of the classroom.

The entrance building façade creates a welcoming appearance using natural materials, wood on the front and the brick in the entrance. The corridors are illuminated through the glazed façade. The top light in the upper floor corridors, are used both as a lighting method which reduces the need for artificial lighting and to provide natural ventilation of the whole school. The energy solutions include the use of geothermal energy based on four modules:

1. Floor/wall/ ceiling heating and cooling,
2. Control system for heating/cooling,
3. Heat pump and
4. Solar panels for sanitary hot water.

The BMS module provides the control of energy consumption for lighting, heating and cooling. The overall calculated energy savings could be up to 40%. Rain water harvesting from the green roof and the courtyard through a filtering system will provide water for the toilet flushing and irrigation of the courtyard. Solar panels and the plants on the roof, which also serve for learning purposes.

All images courtesy of nikomahe.com