Architect Robbie Ferris is on a mission to alter radically the delivery model and performance of K-12 schools.

More recently, near Myrtle Beach, S.C., Sfl+a, its subsidiary development arm FirstFloor K-12 Solutions and its contractor partners completed the simultaneous design-build delivery last fall of five new energy-positive schools for Horry County. Together, they will deliver an estimated energy savings of between $68 million and $94 million.

Robbie Ferris’, Firstfloor and Sfl+a CEO, biggest innovation may be his design-build-finance-operate-maintain delivery approach, which Sfl+a has successfully demonstrated in the field. With FirstFloor acting as owner-developer, the company is, in effect, leasing these buildings to school boards. In these cases, the firm also “owns” the building’s energy data. That’s a key factor in the quest to understand a building’s performance and improve future designs, Ferris notes.

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https://www.enr.com/articles/43785-architects-energy-positive-k-12-schools-offer-a-twist