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SHADED GLAZING

On the Southern facade of the buildings are long narrow horizontal windows which in section slant toward the interior of the building, blocking the direct sun yet allowing daylight into the space. These window openings simultaneously act as a memorial for all the slaves that were once on this historic site.

NATURAL DAYLIGHT

In the Northern hemisphere, the sun path rises in the East, moves along the Southern sky and sets in the West. The Northern facade of a building is therefore excluded from direct sunlight, yet allows daylight to enter the building without heat gain. To maximize the natural daylight, the Northern façade is primarily glazing, reducing the need for artificial lighting saving in cost and energy.

VERTICAL LOUVERS

The rising sun in the East and the setting sun in the West are low in altitude and therefore strike the building at low sun angles. To block the Western sunrays, vertical louvers run along the West facades of the buildings. These prevent the traveling and changing sun angles from entering and heating the classroom spaces.

RAIN WATER HARVESTING

Rain water harvesting is the collection of rainwater from roofs and other elevated surfaces. The collected rainwater can be stored and reused as grey water for irrigation, and toilets. The rain water harvesting and storage on this site has 384’531 gallons of potential rainwater recovery annually.

LIGHT WELLS

In the center of each building are three light wells composed of solid concrete walls on all sides except the glazed North facing one. These light wells bring natural daylight into the center of building while also acting a spatial dividers.