Honorable MentionSubmitted by:
Russ Tiensvold
Thurston Design Group, LLP
822 Main Street
Rapid City, SD 57701
Valley View Elementary School, Rapid City, SD. Displacement Ventilation Diffusers.
Valley View Elementary School opened in the fall of 2004. It is designed to enhance student learning, promote collaboration, and invite interaction and the sharing of ideas with the school and throughout the community.The school houses 624 students and yet maintains a small school environment. The 54,000 sq. ft. school is designed with two "learning communities" with 12 classrooms each. These communities each house two "neighborhoods" (or pods) with six classrooms each. The center core of the facility is situated to allow easy access to shared administrative offices, library, music education, multipurpose, and food service areas.
Valley View Elementary School utilizes thermal displacement ventilation to introduce fresh air low in the space at slightly lower than room temperature. This high volume, low velocity, diffused air meets heat sources in the space (people, computers, etc.) and through a combination of displacement of warmer air and convection current, rises to a collection point at the uppermost points of the space. This action carries with it much of the stale and sometimes contaminated air that can be found in school facilities. Once collected, the pre-warmed air is filtered, combined with outside air, and returned to the heating system to be once again tempered to slightly below room temperature.
Displacement ventilation diffusers, fabricated from perforated metal, are used to diffuse the high volume, low velocity air at the point it is introduced into the space. In the classrooms, the diffusers are rectangular and located near the base of the outside walls. In the main corridors, the diffusers are two lower sections of each large decorative "column", strategically placed throughout the building.
In this application, the perforated material not only camouflages the air ventilation system, it becomes part of the architectural design and increases the visual interest of the school. Because the students are able to see and touch the diffusers, there is a wonderful opportunity to stimulate their young minds with basic engineering principles such as aerodynamics, temperature control and the varied uses of perforated material.
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