Powell Elementary School boasts the DC public school system’s first solar chimneys – designed to emulate and improve on a similar system in the historic 1929 building. Each solar chimney is connected to a rooftop weather station with indicator lights in each classroom — telling the students to open the windows when conditions are right. Signage in the hallway explains how they work in levelled language for different grades. Passive strategies and energy-efficient systems impact operational carbon while reuse of the historic building helps reduce embodied carbon.
The solar chimneys were designed w/ the use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models to provide cool fresh air without the use of any energy. Results for the classroom wing solar chimneys alone are an additional 5.2% savings on energy above the already high baseline or 2% to the overall project.
Daylight and fresh air define the architecture of Powell elementary School – part of a biophilic approach that promotes connection with the cycle of the day and changing of the seasons.
For more about the project and the AIA National Award of Excellence see Powell Elementary School — ISTUDIO Architects