Pilgrims in Pleasantview
Pilgrim Christian Schools will soon have a new home. As of November 26, possession of the old Elreka facility on five acres of land in Pleasantview will transfer from public into private hands. More recently the place was called Pleasantview Academy. A purchase agreement for $80,000.00 was finalized at a Haven (District 312) school board meeting this past Monday evening. Eventually the high school and grade school will be combined at this location.
Among the options still standing in the school facility options, use of the Elreka facility was a very appealing one, in my books. It represents a lot of past community investment and loyalty, it is conservative of construction materials (as opposed to building new), it is being used for the purpose for which it was designed (usually a monetary benefit because modification is minimized), and it does not take additional good farmland out of production.
Almost everyone who grew up in the Amish/Mennonite community here and now is roughly between the ages of 30 and 70 once attended grade school there. It was part of the attendance center for a public school district, made up of several small country schools joining their districts into one. The Elreka name came from combining elements of the East Eureka and Elmhirst names of the smaller schools. Elreka was first used in the 1958-59 school year, when construction was still not quite completed. School bus transportation for the students was another new development that arrived with use of the new building.
Buildings constructed in the late fifties were not usually well insulated. At Elreka, large sections of each exterior classroom wall consisted of glass blocks with a row of single-pane "openable" windows below. All of that means major interior heat and cooling loss through the exterior walls. This situation needs remedying at the Elreka facility.
I lament the potential loss of all that natural light infusing the classroom spaces, however, if making the place amenable to climate control is done without consideration for how it affects the light. Maybe another layer of glass could be installed inside the glass block, with a thick layer of almost-clear "angel hair" insulation between them. I don't actually know of the proper name for what I have in mind, but I've seen it recommended for garden grow-bed covers inside a frame. For that use, it was sandwiched between layers of flexible glazing--think "thick plastic." An abundance of natural light is very important to me. Most students feel the same way, although an occasional one seems to prefer a more cave-like environment--as in "close the blinds and turn off the lights." Research on how the absence of natural light affects mood and learning negatively is there for the finding.
One important principle for energy conservation in construction is to maximize the thermal mass inside the insulating layer. During the winter it absorbs and stores heat. The opposite happens during the summer. The exterior walls at Elreka are block construction with brick exterior. That constitutes an enormous amount of thermal mass, and would, all by itself (if the insulation were on the outside), help tremendously with maintaining even interior temperatures with low energy inputs.
I wish someone would figure out how the insulating layer could go on the outside. New bricking? Peeling off the old brick and cleaning and re-using it? The cleaning of brick is obviously extremely labor-intensive, but with an army of volunteer labor, maybe it would not be as un-doable as it sounds. We literally have hundreds of people old enough or young enough to handle the necessary tools. It would perhaps be one of the only things adolescents could do as well as adults.
Besides violating a conservation-of-energy principle, putting insulation on the inside would necessitate "smallering" the interior space, slightly, at least, because it would thicken the wall, allowing it to extend further into the interior space.
Locating heating and cooling units on the roof of the gym didn't do the exterior appearance any favors. The landscaping, never stellar, is a disgrace now. A number of the trees around the perimeter have died, adding to the wearied ambiance. The landscape matters are relatively easily fixed, although growth of plant material will take time.
All in all, being able to focus now on the perplexities of getting the property in shape for occupation is a good problem to have.
Among the options still standing in the school facility options, use of the Elreka facility was a very appealing one, in my books. It represents a lot of past community investment and loyalty, it is conservative of construction materials (as opposed to building new), it is being used for the purpose for which it was designed (usually a monetary benefit because modification is minimized), and it does not take additional good farmland out of production.
Almost everyone who grew up in the Amish/Mennonite community here and now is roughly between the ages of 30 and 70 once attended grade school there. It was part of the attendance center for a public school district, made up of several small country schools joining their districts into one. The Elreka name came from combining elements of the East Eureka and Elmhirst names of the smaller schools. Elreka was first used in the 1958-59 school year, when construction was still not quite completed. School bus transportation for the students was another new development that arrived with use of the new building.
Buildings constructed in the late fifties were not usually well insulated. At Elreka, large sections of each exterior classroom wall consisted of glass blocks with a row of single-pane "openable" windows below. All of that means major interior heat and cooling loss through the exterior walls. This situation needs remedying at the Elreka facility.
I lament the potential loss of all that natural light infusing the classroom spaces, however, if making the place amenable to climate control is done without consideration for how it affects the light. Maybe another layer of glass could be installed inside the glass block, with a thick layer of almost-clear "angel hair" insulation between them. I don't actually know of the proper name for what I have in mind, but I've seen it recommended for garden grow-bed covers inside a frame. For that use, it was sandwiched between layers of flexible glazing--think "thick plastic." An abundance of natural light is very important to me. Most students feel the same way, although an occasional one seems to prefer a more cave-like environment--as in "close the blinds and turn off the lights." Research on how the absence of natural light affects mood and learning negatively is there for the finding.
One important principle for energy conservation in construction is to maximize the thermal mass inside the insulating layer. During the winter it absorbs and stores heat. The opposite happens during the summer. The exterior walls at Elreka are block construction with brick exterior. That constitutes an enormous amount of thermal mass, and would, all by itself (if the insulation were on the outside), help tremendously with maintaining even interior temperatures with low energy inputs.
I wish someone would figure out how the insulating layer could go on the outside. New bricking? Peeling off the old brick and cleaning and re-using it? The cleaning of brick is obviously extremely labor-intensive, but with an army of volunteer labor, maybe it would not be as un-doable as it sounds. We literally have hundreds of people old enough or young enough to handle the necessary tools. It would perhaps be one of the only things adolescents could do as well as adults.
Besides violating a conservation-of-energy principle, putting insulation on the inside would necessitate "smallering" the interior space, slightly, at least, because it would thicken the wall, allowing it to extend further into the interior space.
Locating heating and cooling units on the roof of the gym didn't do the exterior appearance any favors. The landscaping, never stellar, is a disgrace now. A number of the trees around the perimeter have died, adding to the wearied ambiance. The landscape matters are relatively easily fixed, although growth of plant material will take time.
All in all, being able to focus now on the perplexities of getting the property in shape for occupation is a good problem to have.
posted by Mrs. I (Miriam Iwashige) at
8:20 AM
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