Ivywild School District Model of a Sustainable Neighborhood: a national symbol of Colorado s sustainability leadership

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Mervyn Payne
8 years ago
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4 Ivywild School District Model of a Sustainable Neighborhood: a national symbol of Colorado s sustainability leadership What is Ivywild s national significance? In addition to being the repurposing of a historical landmark property by a team of three highly successful Colorado entrepreneurs, Ivywild School is designed to be one of the most advanced sustainability projects in the nation, rivaling the most successful projects proposed by international designers. Ivywild is a sustainability project that is based on the concept of creating symbiosis among business users. This allows users to share byproducts converting would-be waste to resources and create operational efficiencies that lower costs. Symbiosis is perhaps the most visionary developed model currently existing for sustainability. It is a highly innovative way to design the built environment to meet a tripartite concept of sustainability environmental, functional (economic), and cultural. It involves environmental and resource conservation, renewable energy, sustainable design, energy cost savings, business efficiencies, and a revival of early American community life. The Ivywild model of symbiosis has been developed in Colorado and is a product of Colorado entrepreneurship. Principals in the project are Mike Bristol, founder and owner of Bristol Brewing Company, a nationally award-winning microbrewery located in Colorado Springs; successful restaurateur Joe Coleman, owner of the upscale restaurant The Blue Star and other notable Colorado Springs restaurants; and multiple-award-winning architect Jim Fennell of Fennell Group based in Colorado Springs since Chuck Murphy, owner and president of Murphy Constructors, and long-time advocate of historical preservation, is the general contractor for the project. An important book is being written about Ivywild and its innovations and publicity for the project will be substantial. National political attention, national media attention, and national recognition from sustainability leaders is being focused on this project due to its unique concept that is designed to create long-term community benefits through a highly-sustainable design. The Ivywild concept The redevelopment of the old Ivywild School is a neighborhood multi-use infill development that is highly sustainable, promotes pedestrian activity, and revitalizes the identity of a neighborhood in decline. Where the project is truly unique and where it transcends the tenets of the new urbanism and principles of the early American small-town model is by featuring the concept of symbiosis.

sustainability projects in the nation, rivaling the most successful projects proposed by international designers.

5 Ivywild School District Page 2 Symbiosis in this sense is the free exchange of byproducts among the various users in the proposed district that creates efficiencies for the benefit of everyone in the district. At Ivywild, the primary exchange occurs between a brewery at one end of the site and a greenhouse at the other. The anchor tenant is Bristol Brewing Company, a long-established local business with state-wide distribution that is headquartered in the neighborhood and currently located just two blocks from the site. The principal byproducts of the brewing operation are heat, spent grain, and water. The goal is to reclaim the many of these byproducts on-site. Grey-water can be reclaimed on-site and repurposed as irrigation water for the greenhouse and for surface community gardens located on site. The greenhouse will be operated with assistance from Pike's Peak Urban Gardens a subsidiary of the Pike's Peak Community Foundation, one of Ivywild s nonprofit partners. Produce grown on site in the greenhouse and gardens is planned to be harvested and served in a restaurant also located on site. A full-production bakery operated by The Blue Star restaurant, another successful local business is planned on site to bake fresh breads and pastries daily. The pastry chef is especially excited about the synergies between the bakery and the brewery. There is potential to combine grains from the brewing process with additional grains and to make pretzels and sandwich breads that will be served in the brewery s tasting room. Spent grain from the brewing operation is planned to be repurposed primarily as a soils amendment as compost or fertilizer for the greenhouse and gardens. Any excess grain will be sent to nearby Venetucci Farm also operated by Pikes Peak Community Foundation as organic feed for livestock. Heat recovery from the brewing equipment is planned to supplement the building's domestic heating requirements. In the winter when the greenhouse captures excess daytime heat, this preheated air can be circulated throughout the building. Because the old school has long stood as a symbol of education in the Ivywild neighborhood, there is an underlying educational theme among all the users. Brewery tours will be offered to showcase sustainability features and environmentally-responsible practices in place including its unique interface with the proposed greenhouse and community gardens. Pike's Peak Urban Gardens plans to host classes open to the neighborhood and to the entire community to inform citizens about the nuances of gardening in the local climate. Because the development will ultimately have a greenhouse, surface gardens, and vegetated roofs, classes are being programmed for all of these activities. Even classes on container gardening are envisioned. The restaurant is planning a demonstration kitchen and the culinary staff hopes to hold cooking classes that are open to the public. This could include chocolate making, cake decorating, and other fun activities for kids. Fennell Group\Ivywild School District.doc

The anchor tenant is Bristol Brewing Company, a long-established local business with state-wide distribution that is headquartered in the neighborhood and currently located just two blocks from the

6 Ivywild School District Page 3 The offices of award-winning sustainable design firm, Fennell Group, will be located in the building as well. Seminars and tours are planned that will demonstrate and promote the use of environmentally-responsible construction practices and building systems including those employed at the Ivywild project. Renewable-energy systems are included in the project concept and the ultimate goal is to evolve Ivywild into a development that is net-zero energy. The long-term vision includes a geo-exchange system which will be supplemented with solar photovoltaic panels to produce electricity. Solarthermal panels that produce domestic hot water are planned also. There is even a solar-powered Electric Vehicle (EV) charging station already fabricated that is being located on the site. Fennell Group has purchased an EV as part of its commitment to demonstrating the benefits of renewable energy. Envisioned as a neighborhood center for the longstanding Ivywild community, the re-purposed school building and site encourage neighborhood participation. A public space immediately adjacent to the main entrance has been designed as a public street. Rather than default to a mere parking lot, this public space was conceived with all the elements associated with a public street including parallel parking, street trees, street furniture, and storefronts along the side. Near the center of the space, paving is being differentiated to create a plaza or neighborhood square. Adjacent to the square is an amphitheater for music events or other fun outdoor activities. The street itself can be occasionally closed for markets, festivals, or any neighborhood happening. In future phases the plan brings housing to the site. The upper floors of the west building will house flexible spaces for living and working. Upper levels of the future east buildings are planned to be geared toward families. Having housing and people on site 24-7 is important to maximize efficiencies. District-based infrastructure for heating, water reclamation, and renewable energy are more efficient when there is continual activity. The long-term vision of the development is to use the concept of symbiosis to provide an exchange of byproducts among all of the users in the Ivywild School district. Converting conventional waste byproducts into resources for other users will maximize efficiencies on-site. This means businesses located in the district can operate at lower costs and reduce their energy demand. By inspiring its immediate neighbors and its greater community with a vision of how our future can encourage health, prosperity, and a greater sense of community, the Ivywild School District truly serves as a model for creating a highly-sustainable neighborhood. Fennell Group\Ivywild School District.doc

Renewable-energy systems are included in the project concept and the ultimate goal is to evolve Ivywild into a development that is net-zero energy.

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