Desert Edge High School

Desert Edge High School is a high school in Goodyear, Arizona under the jurisdiction of the Agua Fria Union High School District.

Campus

The 218,783-square-foot (20,325.6 m²) site set on 55 acres (220,000 m²) includes, besides classrooms and administration offices, a media center, gymnasium, student bookstore, auditorium, and career technology area.

History and construction

The first phase of Desert Edge was new construction completed in 2002.^[1] The second phase of the structure, a 90,000-square-foot (8,400 m²) expansion, was built by Adolfson and Peterson Construction and completed in 2005.^[2] It received LEED Silver certification, making Desert Edge Arizona's first LEED-certified public high school and the fourth in the United States.^[3] It included new classrooms and a free-standing fine arts center. This expansion was completed four weeks ahead of schedule and $450,000 under budget.

The result of this is that the district saves $58,000 annually in energy costs and uses 1 million US gallons (3,800 m³) of water a year compared to a traditional high school. The Agua Fria Union High School District's fourth high school, Verrado High School (opened 2006), has a similar LEED certification. Since then, Desert Edge and Verrado have also received solar panel installs, which will be forthcoming to the other high schools in the district by September 2011.^[4] It is estimated that some 40 percent of the entire district's energy needs will come from these solar panels upon completion.

Awards

The campus, largely for its environmentally-friendly features, has won the following awards:^[1]

• 2002 American School and University Architectural Portfolio Outstanding Building Award
• 2006 "Best of Green Building – Public" award from Southwest Contractor magazine
• 2006 Valley Forward Association Award of Merit

References