The Lowell Sun highlights SmartSpace at the Carroll School as an "Innovation Station"

October 11, 2007 Lincoln — Sunlight streams from the ceiling. Sensors allow fresh air to filter into the mold-resistant structure.

Nestled near tall trees, the silver modular classroom is close to the Carroll School's traditional brick building. The Carroll School, which serves children with language-based learning disabilities, wanted additional space and an energy-efficient building.

Head of School Steve Wilkins said the nontraditional building enhances the school's creative theme. "We're dealing with really bright children who are likely to be the innovative creative problem solvers of the future," Wilkins said. "It's an innovative solution to a long-standing problem, which is school space." Cliff Cort, president of Triumph SmartSpace in Littleton, built the classroom from sustainable materials. Installed last November, it's the first "green" modular classroom in the country, according to Cort and Tom Hardiman, executive director of The Modular Building Institute, a Virginia nonprofit trade association. Instead of electric light, natural sunlight enters through ceiling panels, while large windows line both sides of the building for additional light. "Kids deserve a high-quality learning environment," Cort said. A study by The Collaborative of High Performance Schools, a California nonprofit organization, linked higher student test scores to classrooms with more sunlight. "If children can see out a window, there's something about the serotonin in their brain. They end up having higher test scores than kids who are shut down without daylight," Cort said.

With thickly insulated walls and other energy-saving features, the building is also 50 percent more energy-efficient than standard buildings, according to Hickory Consortium consultants of Harvard, hired by Cort. The U.S. Green Building Council uses a green-building rating system called LEED, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. While the modular classroom is not LEED-certified, it has many LEED components, and was designed by a LEED-certified architect, Cort said. The classroom's carpet is made from recycled materials, wood comes from managed forests, and paint inside the classroom is formaldehyde-free. "The building has healthy characteristics coming from companies that have sustainable products," Cort said. The modular building was made off-site and took two weeks to install, which lessens the environmental impact compared to on-site construction, Cort said. Other school districts, like Newton, have expressed interest in purchasing a green modular classroom, and Cort predicts sustainable school buildings will soon become more than a trend. "I think this is going to become more of a standard than a specialty," Cort said. "The building can be used for 10, 15 or 20 years."