In 2008, the Montoursville Area School District elected to renovate its middle school facility. Though in generally good condition, its building systems had not been updated in 40 years. The school board wanted a sustainable project as an example of stewardship for other buildings in the district as well as for ASSOCIATED FIRMMcKissick Associates InsightsCAPACITY815COST PER SQ FT$90.09FEATURED IN2012 Architectural PortfolioSUB CATEGORYRenovation community.
The new zero-energy library at McCall Middle School is constructed within a former two-story exterior courtyard. The courtyard was not used frequently, so its exterior walls became the interior walls of the two-story library. The library roof, dominated by two skylights over the length of the courtyard, provides daylighting for the enclosed space and maintains daylight for the classrooms with windows bordering the courtyard.
Monitoring of these windows was incorporated into the classroom environment as part of the school’s science program. The second-floor science suite, which overlooks the upper library, hosts monitoring equipment for measuring the library’s energy use.