American Canyon High School: A New Model of Green Building and Education Innovation

Designed by Quattrocchi Kwok Architects, the American Canyon High School will also be a model of education architectural innovation when complete. The school is organized around an elliptical campus green flanked by four Small Learning Communities, each with its own smaller courtyard. The small learning communities will ensure that students have a stronger sense of belonging, while teachers and administrators are better able to offer personalized academic and emotional support.
Across the campus green will be an elliptical library and administration building, flanked by a theater and gymnasium, which make up the public front to the campus.

The high school will incorporate numerous innovative sustainable design elements. It will include a 500 Kw photovoltaic solar array that will provide more than 40 percent of the campus’ electricity. It will also use an advanced ground source heat pump mechanical system, extensive daylighting controls, many sustainable materials and numerous water conservation measures. Together these features will make American Canyon an excellent example of green design.

QKA used the ArchiCAD model throughout the length of the project to design and document the school, coordinate the design with engineers and consultants, create presentation renderings and drawings, and perform energy and daylighting analysis, according to Aaron Jobson, an architect at QKA. “American Canyon High School was designed to incorporate state of the art technology and educational philosophy. The 3D capabilities of ArchiCAD were essential to the successful realization of this design,” he said. “The school was also designed to embrace sustainability. QKA used ArchiCAD to synthesize these ideas into a dynamic campus that will be an excellent example of sustainable design.”

Renderings courtesy of Pechara Studio