Isaac Dickson Elementary School

Isaac Dickson Elementary is a flagship project for Legerton Architecture and our partner architectural firm on this project, Innovative Design from Raleigh, NC, as both of our firms are deeply committed to education and sustainable design. A 550-student sustainable school near downtown Asheville, the school is a modern learning environment for students in kindergarten through 5th grade.

We designed Isaac Dickson Elementary for LEED Platinum certification, and the building’s sustainable design features include: 74 geothermal wells linked to a high-efficiency chiller/heater HVAC system, a 596 kW solar PV system, innovative stormwater treatment systems with an educational wetland pond and sand filter basin with solar PV pumps, a 25,000-gallon underground rainwater harvesting tank, solar daylighting, occupancy and daylight sensor controlled LED lighting, and recycled or reused materials throughout.

The design also provides unique learning spaces and teaching tools, such as outdoor classrooms for all grade levels, an outdoor amphitheater, nature trail, native animal track imprints in the sidewalks, educational solar greenhouse, large-scale sundial, planet signs, world map, “North Carolina Geography” wall, and, most notably, a 66-million year old Hadrosaur fossil located immediately inside the entrance to the school.

Architectural Partner: Innovative Design
Landscape Architect: Sitework Studios
Structural Engineer: Kloesel Engineering
MEP Engineers: Elm Engineering
Civil Engineers: B&F Consulting
Photographer: J. Weiland