by Jessica Dailey,

Texas is known for the Alamo, spicy Tex-Mex food, big Stetson hats, and now it also has the nation’s largest net-zero public school. Welcoming its first students this past fall, the Lady Bird Johnson Middle School in Irving Texas is a 152,000 square foot facility that produces as much energy as it uses thanks to wind turbines, solar panels, and a slew of the most advanced green technologies and building techniques. Dallas-based firm Corgan Associates led the design team, which incorporated a variety of experts to create a school that serves not only as a classroom, but also as a teacher of sustainability and energy-efficiency.

Lady Bird Johnson Middle School’s green features are apparent from the moment one approaches the school, as 12 wind turbines rise 45  feet into the air alongside the building. While visually impressive, the wind turbines actually only produce 1 percent of the school’s power needs. The other 99 percent is generated through the 2,988 Solyndra panels on the white roof that contain cylindrical tubes that capture sunlight from 360 degrees. Any extra energy produced is directed back to the regional grid.

The renewable energy production is coupled with a highly efficient building. 105 geothermal heat pumps help the HVAC system use about 30 percent less energy, and high-performance materials from Fabral Metal Wall and Roof Systems were used for the building’s physical structure. Insulated wall panels, sun shades, and light shelves are a few of the recycled and sustainable Fabral materials used. To help block the hot Texas sun from overheating the building, a large canopy was constructed on two sides of the building to help shade the windows.

(Source: www.inhabitat.com )