©Martin Hopp Architect

Evergreen Charter School, a new mass timber K-12 educational building designed by Martin Hopp Architect (MHA), is now complete on Long Island. The New York City–based studio designed the school in Hempstead, New York, with Gil Bernardino and Dr. Sarah Brewster, Evergreen Charter School’s founders. The building incorporates mass timber, solar shading, native plant species, and other strategies. Wood fins regulate natural light access, and denote a signature architectural feature. Its embodied carbon measures 330 kgCO2e/m2 and its energy use intensity is 173 kWh/m2—a 24 percent improvement over baseline compared to buildings with similar footprints and programming, MHA stated. …The architect said in a statement the building is “designed to be a teacher in itself.” Signage throughout the school conveys for students how employing mass timber, solar shading, and native plant species can reduce carbon impact. This signage is augmented by murals and “info-stations” about the importance of sustainability.