Sierra Vista Elementary School LEEDv4 Silver Certified
Updated: Oct 9
As communities grow, schools need to grow with them. At Sierra Vista Elementary School, a new classroom block gives Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) the space needed to serve a growing student population while creating a more connected, comfortable, and sustainable learning environment.
Designed by SMPC Architects and constructed by Bradbury Stamm Construction, the 37,988-square-foot classroom expansion adds much-needed capacity to the existing campus. The project achieved LEED v4 Silver certification in September 2026, and was also recognized with an AIA Albuquerque Citation Award in 2025 for its thoughtful approach to design, campus integration, and student learning spaces.
Designing for How Students Learn
For schools, sustainability is about more than reducing a building's environmental footprint. The spaces where students spend their days can also influence how they learn, interact, and experience their environment.
At Sierra Vista, daylight and views were important considerations throughout the design. The new classroom block brings natural light deep into the learning environment while providing views toward the surrounding landscape and mountains.
Verdacity's daylight modeling helped the design team balance those goals with the realities of Albuquerque's intense sun. The analysis informed shading strategies that help control glare and excessive heat gain while maintaining access to natural light and views.
The result is an environment that uses daylight as more than an energy strategy—it becomes part of the experience of the students and teachers who use the building every day.
A Sustainable Approach to Water
One of the project's most significant sustainability achievements is its water performance.
The project is expected to conserve nearly 400,000 gallons of potable water annually compared with typical building and landscape designs.
That matters particularly in New Mexico, where water is a limited resource. Reducing demand for potable water helps conserve a resource that communities depend on while also reducing the energy and infrastructure required to treat and distribute that water.
The project achieves an estimated 22.67% reduction in indoor water use and 71% reduction in outdoor water use. Together, those strategies represent approximately 399,000 gallons of annual water savings.
The landscape design plays an important role. Rather than treating the landscape as an afterthought, the project integrates a thoughtful, water-conscious landscape into the site and exterior learning spaces. APS also maintains smart irrigation and metering systems that help manage water use over the life of the facility.
Connecting the Addition to the Campus
Adding a new building to an existing school presents a different design challenge than creating a new campus from scratch. The new classroom block needed to provide contemporary learning spaces while feeling like a natural extension of the existing school.
SMPC Architects' approach successfully integrates the addition into the existing campus and local context. The design creates stronger connections across the site while introducing a contemporary architectural expression that remains cohesive with its surroundings.
The exterior spaces are similarly integrated into the campus, with landscape and outdoor learning areas woven into the site design rather than treated as separate elements.
This approach was recognized by the 2025 AIA Albuquerque Design Awards jury, which cited the project for its thoughtful spatial improvements, increased daylight, improved campus connections, comfort, usability, and ability to blend with the existing campus while providing contemporary learning spaces.
Performance by Design
The project's sustainability strategies extend beyond daylight and water.
Proper building orientation and systems design were important drivers of its energy performance. The project achieved an estimated 87.7% energy cost savings through its LEED performance calculations, with approximately 289,166 kWh in annual energy savings and an estimated 289,166 kWh of annual renewable energy generation.
The project also diverted an exceptional 93.38% of construction waste from the landfill, representing more than 698 tons of material. A significant portion of that achievement came from recycling concrete generated during construction.
Together, these strategies demonstrate how thoughtful decisions about a building's orientation, systems, landscape, materials, and occupant experience can work together to create a higher-performing school.
Verdacity's Role
Verdacity served as the project's LEED and Sustainability Consultant, overseeing sustainability efforts from design through construction.
Our work included supporting the project's energy and daylight modeling, conducting life-cycle impact analysis, coordinating LEED documentation, and guiding the project through certification. During construction, Verdacity also oversaw material performance and helped ensure that sustainability requirements established during design carried through into the completed project.
The project was a collaborative effort between APS, SMPC Architects, Bradbury Stamm Construction, and the broader design and construction team. Verdacity was proud to help translate the project's sustainability goals into measurable outcomes while supporting the team's broader vision for the campus.
Investing in Better Learning Environments
Sierra Vista Elementary demonstrates how a classroom expansion can do more than accommodate growth. With thoughtful integration into the existing campus, access to daylight and views, water-efficient landscape strategies, and high-performance building systems, the project creates a learning environment designed with both students and long-term environmental performance in mind.
The project is a reminder that sustainable design is ultimately about how we use our resources and how we create places for people. For schools, those decisions have the opportunity to shape the daily experience of students and educators for decades.
Congratulations to Albuquerque Public Schools, SMPC Architects, Bradbury Stamm Construction, and the entire project team on achieving LEED v4 Silver certification for the Sierra Vista Elementary School Classroom Block Expansion.
Inspired to help create what's next?
We're growing our team. Verdacity is currently hiring for opportunities to work alongside architects, engineers, contractors, and owners to advance high-performance, sustainable design across New Mexico and beyond. If you're passionate about building sustainability and want to be part of the work, explore our current opportunities and consider joining the Verdacity team.
