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The Academy for the Love of Learning is very excited to have designed and constructed a new campus that is gold LEED registered (the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green structures) endorsed by the USGBC (United States Green Building Council). Features include the following:
- Geothermal heating and cooling. Solar panels for hot water heating.
- Electrical needs from PNM supplied in part by photovoltaic arrays.
- Natural day lighting, compact fluorescent lighting, and LED lighting.
- Grey and black water system for irrigation. Low flow toilets.
- All roof runoff diverted into underground 55,000-gallon storage tanks for irrigation. Xeric gardens. Environmentally friendly landscape materials.
- High “R” valve, energy saving wall construction. Double pane windows, extra insulation.
- Natural plasters, low VOC paints, mud floors, certified wood flooring. Fresh air ventilation and night flush systems in the building.
- Most construction materials purchased within a 500-mile radius.
- Sorting and recycling of all materials. Limited site disturbance.
The Academy’s new campus will house the Seton Gallery. This features rotating exhibits, open to the public, displaying the Academy’s collection of Seton’s works.
We will also pay tribute to Ernest Thompson Seton by designing a meditative garden from the architecturally significant remains of some of the west, north and south façades of Seton Castle. The walls have been restored and the inner-wall has been faced with stone. We will plant a xeric garden among the remains of the castle to create a quiet outdoor sanctuary.
The great majority of the Academy’s land remains open, green space.
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“ I should like to lead this whole nation into the way of living outdoors.”
~ Ernest Thompson Seton
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