Press

A new building for Riverstone International School keeps both budget and philosphy in mind.

"Because it is a private school, the financing and expenses are very important; keeping the budget very tight is very important, so we’re not seeking any kind of LEED certification,” said Brian Garrett, project manager for Boise-based Erstad Architects. 

But the school, which puts an emphasis on nature, was designed with attention to energy efficiency and a respect for natural resources. 

It will be oriented to capture daylight, and the roof will follow “cool roof principles” - or energy-efficiency standards for roof treatment established by Idaho Power, Garrett explained. 

The school, on Warm Springs Avenue two miles east of Barber Drive, will make use of a high proportion of local and regional products. 

The building’s concrete tilt-up walls are aimed at energy savings, providing extra insulation. The design calls for a warm stain on the exterior concrete walls. 

“We went through an extensive value-engineering process that led into tilt-up concrete,” Garrett said. “And once we got going down that path, we tried to imagine how tilt-up could be beautiful and used in a unique way for the school. We’ve seen concrete stained in the past, and we decided to let the concrete material basically be the finished material of the building. ... It will be a very unique and beautiful finish.” 

Ron Juhnke, project manager for general contractor Meridian-based Petra, said he’s stained concrete before, but only on the horizontal. He said the team has been experimenting with the different stains on mock panels. 

“We’re excited; we’re really jacked to do it,” he said. “... It should be a real nice finish.” 

Crews have been pouring sections of the concrete slabs, and Juhnke said he expects to be ready to tilt the panels into place on June 22. 

The 25,000-square-foot school is laid out in the shape of an X, with the entrance and administrative offices in the center, and the classrooms - organized by school grade - in each of the four wings. 

Juhnke said the design allows for “quick egrees” from the classrooms and lots of light. 

On the inside, polished concrete will make up the hallway floors, with carpet in the classrooms. The roof structure - including trusses, HVAC and lighting - will remain exposed so the students can see how the building is put together. 

One issue crews have confronted is the clay content in the soil. Some of it has to come out in order to have adequate structural fill, and Petra has been working with Boise-based Materials Testing and Inspection to determine how much soil will have to be replaced. 

Construction began in March 2009 and is expected to be completed in December. 

The school raised $2.1 million in a fundraising campaign, and Key Bank loaned an additional $1.4 million for the new building.