Founded in 1999, Redding School of the Arts, a distinguished California charter school, has developed a clear vision around teaching and performing arts. With the decision in 2007 by a locally based philanthropic foundation to fund its new school campus, that vision led to defining characteristics that would create a state-of-the-art facility that itself would pioneer learning and a connection to the environment. The first new school campus in the world to be awarded LEED for Schools 2009 Platinum certification, RSA has been designed with a balance between traditional design elements and innovative technology concepts.
LEED’s highest certification, however, is only a starting point. With this school, decisions have been consistently made to explore as many examples of environmentally friendly ideas as possible for student learning opportunities, even when those decisions haven’t necessarily contributed to the LEED scorecard. Opening in fall of 2011, this building has already been incorporated into the teaching curriculum as “a tool for teaching green”, for its children, parents and teachers, as well as the local community and beyond.
To date, the school has received numerous national awards, including the 2011 Beyond Green High – Performance Building Honor Award. With the 2012 Design Excellence Award from the American Institute of Architects, jurors remarked, “This project may best capture the spirit of innovation in design.”
Press release dated 4-19-12The American Institute of Architects has announced that Trilogy Architecture Urban Design Research
has been selected to receive a Design Excellence Award for its project “Redding School of the Arts”. The AIA
award is the second national design award to be given to Trilogy Architecture this year for the school.Trilogy Architecture, headed by architect James Theimer, AIA, is one of only four Design Excellence winners out of fifteen projects selected from schools throughout the United States, and the only project winner from California.
The award, to be presented in Washington D.C. on May 18th, is part of an annual program sponsored by the AIA Committee on Architecture for Education (CAE) designed to “identify, honor, and disseminate the projects and ideas that exhibit innovation and excellence”.
“It is certainly an honor to be recognized by your peers,” commented Theimer, “but more importantly, this will hopefully start to focus national attention on Redding, California, and the continuing emphasis being placed on education in this community.”
Completed in the Fall of 2011, The Redding School of the Arts is a 77,000 square-foot, K-8 public charter school funded by The McConnell Foundation. Its energy-efficient program was designed to meet the requirements for LEED Platinum certification, which is pending.
In March, 2012, Theimer was in Washington, D.C. to receive the National Institute of Building Sciences Sustainable Buildings Industry Council (SBIC) 2011 Beyond Green ™ High Performance Building Award, also given to Trilogy for Redding School of the Arts.
Trilogy Architecture has been in business for 22 years, and this is its first school. “Without question, the best part of this project has been working with a totally committed community –the funders, the teachers, the parents, the designers, the builders and trades, and yes, the children – who actively participated in the process of design for their school,” remarked Theimer. “In the end, it’s never about the name on the letterhead. This kind of success only happens because of the dedication of many, many people. It really does take a community to build a school of this caliber.”
For more information on the awards and recipients, go to:
http://info.aia.org/blast_images/kc/CAE_12_Awardsannounce.html
End of Press release dated 4-19-12
Press release dated 2-27-12
The National Institute of Building Sciences Sustainable Buildings Industry Council (SBIC) has selected Trilogy Architecture as the recipient of a 2011 Beyond Green ™ High Performance Building Award for design of the new Redding School of the Arts.
Trilogy, a Redding-based firm headed by architect James Theimer AIA, was awarded an Honor Award — First Place for a New Academic Complex. The firm was competing nationally in the category of high performance buildings.
“We are pleased to see the expansion of high-performance buildings and the programs and products that support their development. The awardees are excellent examples of the leadership necessary to assure our nation’s buildings achieve high-performance goals,” stated Institute President Henry L. Green, Hon. AIA.
Trilogy Architecture will be honored on March 22, 2012, in Washington, D.C at a ceremony before Members of Congress, staff, and representatives from leading organizations within the building community. The ceremony will include a briefing of the High Performance Building Congressional Caucus Coalition on Capitol Hill. “This is an exciting opportunity to explain our work to leaders who can effect change,” commented Theimer. “Our hope is that it will help further appreciation for environmentally-friendly design and energy-efficient buildings.”
Completed in the Fall of 2011, The Redding School of the Arts is a 77,000 square-foot, K-8 public charter school. Its energy-efficient program was designed to meet the requirements for LEED Platinum certification, which is pending. The school was funded by the McConnell Foundation and constructed by Gifford Construction.
Said Lee Salter, President and CEO of The McConnell Foundation, “We’re pleased to see Redding School of the Arts and Trilogy Architecture gain this recognition. The Foundation is proud to have funded this project and worked so closely with so many talented and visionary people to achieve our goal of building a sustainable school.”
Trilogy Architecture has been in business in Redding for 22 years, and this is its first school. “As a small firm, competing with large national firms is never easy in any competition; competing in a project type that was new to us made it even more rewarding to win,” remarked Theimer. “We were only able to achieve this level of success because of the dedication and hard work of a large group of consultants, many of whom are located within our community.”
__End of Press Release Dated 2-27-12__
Completed in August of 2011, the Redding School of the Arts was created with three basic ideals in mind:
A design that teaches others
A design that shares itself
A design that inspires all
The new Redding School of the Arts will not just be the home of teachers helping to prepare students for the future. The school itself – with its cutting-edge design – will be a teacher. Students in the K-8 charter school, as well as their parents, community members and the country, courtesy of the Internet, will learn how a building can help both the environment and the learning process. -Enjoy Magazine
Photos ©2011 Steve Whittaker/www.whittpho.com
