Einstein Middle School is environmentally friendly

An aerial view of Einstein Middle School shows the track. Part of the football field is marked and the other half is full of construction equipment. More construction trailers sit to the right, south of the building. The two story school is gray and plain from this angle. There is an open courtyard in the center of the building. Aerial photography copyright Marc Weinberg.

Text and aerial photos, Marc Weinberg

I often pass the site of Einstein School which has been completely rebuilt and is now in the final stages. The most interesting aspects of this construction have been how the design has addressed environment concerns. 

A close up of the building shows solar panels covering the roof of one section of the large building. The courtyard beyond it is dirt and construction equipment. On the other side of the courtyard, the building is still clad in yellow construction materials. Aerial photography copyright Marc Weinberg

One of these are the solar panels on the roof. From the street you wouldn't know they are there. It was only after I flew my drone over the site for this article that I could see them. In speaking with Michael Romero, construction project manager for the Shoreline School District, I learned that the panels have been providing about 80% of Einstein's electricity during construction and is expected to provide 20-25% once the school is in operation. 

In that same conversation I asked about the huge yellow tanks that were being installed underground. 

Bright yellow storage tanks are lined up where the front of the old school was located at 3rd NW and NW 195th. A row of short sections sits in a line in the foreground and shorter sections sit in clusters around the site. Aerial photography copyright Marc Weinberg. 

 

Michael explained that the tanks will store rainwater run off from the entire site and slowly release it into the City's normal drainage system, eventually reaching Puget Sound. The flow of that release is calculated to be that which would have been normal when the land was in its original forested state. I found that most interesting and I have no idea how the engineers could figure that out.

As of this date teachers and administration are currently using the building and it will be ready for this school year beginning in September (depending on Covid-19) or whenever in-person classes are safe to hold. The parking lot will be finished by the end of October.

Correction: the solar panels are providing 80% of electrical needs during construction. Once the school is operational, the panels are expected to provide 20-25% of the school's electricity.