Project Description
JP designed envelope improvements to sound insulate Gertrude E. Chamberlin Elementary School in South Burlington, VT. Located less than half a mile from BTV, the school experiences daily interruptions from aircraft noise. As the Architect and Owner’s Project Manager, JP collaborated with C3 Engineers to design a ventilation package for the school. BTV secured a $1.65 million federal grant to upgrade the school’s ventilation system, allowing doors and windows to remain closed year-round, significantly reducing aircraft noise in classrooms and other learning spaces.
Project Highlights
- Installed multiple Energy Recovery Ventilation Units (ERV) to enhance the school’s air quality and boost energy efficiency. These units:
- Provide fresh air to the building while expelling stale air outside, a feature that became crucial for mitigating COVID-19 spread when implemented in 2021.
- Increase energy efficiency by recovering energy from the exhaust air streams and transferring it to the incoming air. This “free” energy reduces the mechanical energy needed to condition the air. In the summer, incoming air is cooled by the outgoing exhaust air; in the winter, incoming cool air is heated by the exhaust.
- Added new air conditioning units to classrooms to ensure windows could remain closed, reducing noise intrusion.
- Upgraded the building’s power supply to support the new units.
- Installed the necessary infrastructure for the mechanical upgrades throughout the school’s hallway ceilings. Replaced the ceilings to accommodate this work in the original mid-century sections of the building.
