Kalwall Featured In Grand Prize-Winning Project
Learning by Design Bestows Cambridge Public Schools with Prestigious Award. By blending innovative educational concepts into the design and achieving the highest standards of energy efficiency, the architects and designers of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. School complex in Cambridge, Mass., were cited by LEARNING BY DESIGN as one of three Grand Prize winners in its Spring 2017 edition.
A centerpiece feature of the design is the bright and spacious gymnasium featuring Kalwall translucent sandwich panels. Kalwall has been featured in numerous LBD award-winning projects.
LEARNING BY DESIGN, produced in partnership with the American Institute of Architects (AIA), is published twice annually to recognize outstanding architecture and innovative excellence in educational design.
The ability of Kalwall panels to fill space with diffuse and glare-free natural daylighting makes it a preferred choice in educational facilities. Numerous studies show that natural daylight promotes a better learning environment.
Kalwall’s ability to harvest daylight without sacrificing thermal performance has also made it a key element in almost 1,000 LEED® certified projects. The MLK School complex is expected to achieve LEED Platinum certification and is designed to use 60 percent less energy than typical educational buildings in New England. In their jury comments, the judges noted that “sustainability measures are well conceived and implanted” in the MLK School design.
Perkins Eastman of Boston, Mass., was the architect of the $80 million project that covers 190,000 square feet of building space on 3.39 acres and serves 840 students pre-kindergarten through eighth grade.
“We are committed to advancing technologies that promote sustainability and energy efficiency,” says Kalwall principal Amelia Keller. “Being a featured product in projects such as the MLK School complex is an honor.”
