APS to Open Numerous New and Refurbished Facilities

Albuquerque Public Schools will open new additions and renovations of four elementary schools and two high schools.

East San Jose Elementary School’s extensive update includes a fully renovated kitchen as well as the addition of administration space to include a workroom, teachers’ lounge, counselor’s office, five special education offices, a textbook distribution room and nurse’s office. The student Health Based Clinic at East San Jose operated by the University of New Mexico also has an expanded new home. The new clinic includes a pharmacy and eye exam area. In addition, 19 classrooms were renovated at the school.

Bandelier Elementary also has a refurbished kitchen and cafeteria that includes a new stage, in addition to a renovated teachers’ workroom and computer lab. The school also has a new administration office as well as student and staff rest rooms and janitorial space. A newly installed exterior loading dock that includes a dumpster enclosure completes the upgrades.

Duranes Elementary School will open four new kindergarten classrooms in addition to an art and music room.

Chelwood Elementary is receiving four new classrooms, an auxiliary room, storage space and a telecommunications room, in addition to a new mechanical and electrical room, all on the school’s first floor. On the second floor are 11 new classrooms, student rest rooms, a telecommunications room, as well as a fully remodeled hall and entryway.

Major additions at district high schools include four new science labs at Cibola as well as a substantially renovated kitchen and cafeteria. The new ninth grade academy at Atrisco Heritage Academy High School also recently opened.

The district will open four new classrooms and a parent room at Whittier Elementary School, and two new classrooms and an administration building at Sandia Base Elementary School within the next few months.

SMPC Designs First LEED-Certified Building on UNM Campus

The University of New Mexico Department of Biology’s Castetter Hall addition will be the first on campus to adhere to the Governor of New Mexico’s Executive Order requiring new buildings acquire a minimum of LEED silver. The addition is anticipated to exceed this and become LEED gold.

Once the addition is completed, the department will offer high-caliber training for students not easily fulfilled elsewhere in the state while enabling UNM to maintain its competitiveness in seeking funding through organizations including the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. The research laboratories will provide opportunities for students and faculty to work on health-related problems affecting the world while also allowing researchers to contribute to critical issues in New Mexico such as water quantity and quality.

In the past, high-tech research facilities have come with a high energy cost. "Traditionally research laboratories are high-energy users so that the interior environment is kept clear of contaminants," says SMPC Architects principal Dave Cook, AIA, the lead designer of the building. "The mechanical systems on this addition will filter and re-circulate already conditioned air as much as possible."

The building will consume 31.5% less energy overall than traditional buildings on campus. "We have maximized other ways to gain energy efficiency," says Lisa Logan, LEED AP, SMPC Architects associate and director of sustainable design. "For example, because the addition is south-facing, we have given a lot of care to ensure the addition has the best quality of natural light reducing the need for artificial light. We have also reduced solar gain which will minimize cooling loads."

The Castetter addition will also score points in the LEED certification process because its construction waste is sorted and recycled keeping the waste from entering landfills. Additionally, the materials used to construct the addition contain high amounts of recycled content, which is manufactured regionally. For UNM this creates a sense of environmental stewardship and community citizenship.

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