The James Learning Center is Prescott, Arizona’s first LEED Certified Building, and the first building in Yavapai County to achieve LEED Gold certification. The 80 acre site was provided to the Highlands Center was a long term lease from the Prescott National Forest. Green Ideas implemented several sustainable strategies into the Center, allowing it to earn LEED Gold certification. A south facing interior stone wall, built from rock harvested on site, stores solar heat during the cold winter months, warming the building and stabilizing indoor temperatures. Reflective light shelves on the north and south of the building bounce additional daylight into the interior of the building. The building also has many commonsense green features incorporated into its design, such as structural timbers harvested from the surrounding forest and walls made of local natural stone. The James Learning Center is an excellent example of how a building can utilize local resources and blend in with its surrounding environment.
