This article originally appeared in the summer issue of Cedar Valley Business Quarterly

WATERLOO -- When asked why architecture was important to the Cedar Valley, InVision architect Brad Leeper immediately drew a quote from his memory.

"We shape our buildings, and afterwards, our buildings shape us."

Winston Churchill spoke those words after the House of Commons was destroyed by a bomb on May 10, 1941. Leeper keeps that quote in mind when he designs his buildings, and Churchill's words are perhaps most relevant in Leeper's area of expertise -- school buildings.

Leeper played a prominent role in the design of the Lou Henry Elementary school in Waterloo, which was completed in August of 2005. The project set a new standard in school building design and earned a national honor in the Education Design Showcase.

The building represents a trend in design that extends beyond the education system. Lou Henry blends lavish aesthetic design with functionality, creating a beautiful but efficient elementary school.

"We design schools differently today than in the last boom that happened 50 years ago," said Leeper. "Now it's not just about making it look good, it's about making it work well."

The school, named in honor of Waterloo native and former first lady Lou Henry Hoover, incorporates several efficiency standards to minimize energy costs.

A geo-thermal pump is used to heat and cool the building, drawing from the mild temperature of the ground. The building also utilizes daylight to drive down electricity costs and simultaneously create an attractive environment.

"We know that elements like natural daylighting in school have an impact on whether people want to be there or not -- and that's teachers, staff and students," said Leeper. "We know it has an impact on absenteeism and test scores."

Local, natural materials such as concrete, masonry and tile were used in lieu of synthetic materials to reduce transportation costs, improve the building's lifespan, and again, for their aesthetic appeal.

The $7.16 million project carried a heavy front-end price tag, but it will save the school district $45,000 annually when compared to the state's standard for school buildings. In its first year of existence, the school received $150,000 in energy rebates from Mid-American Energy.

"The Cedar Valley has been pretty progressive in terms of how we build our schools. The tendency of a lot of schools is to go as cheap as you can, and first cost is the only consideration," said Leeper. "With Lou Henry, the school board realized they are spending that money up front and looking at it as a life cycle cost, and not just an initial cost."

Leeper's co-worker, architect Mike Broshar, said if the Lou Henry project was rated by the United States Green Building Council, it would earn a prestigious silver rating.

The school provides a glamorous environment for students, but from the outset it was designed to act as a community center, as well. Common spaces such as the media center, gymnasium and general purpose rooms are open to the public after school hours.

Geoff Grimes, an architect with Struxture Architects in Waterloo, said the Cedar Valley's commitment to high-quality educational facilities stems from a local option sales tax, which provides school districts with the necessary funds to create sustainable buildings like Lou Henry Elementary.

"I think if there's one thing this community has done for the schools, it's the local option sales tax," said Grimes. "We have made a huge commitment to creating top-rate facilities."

According to area architects, the Cedar Valley does not have a "signature" piece of architectural design. There is no single building that any architect could point to as being the area's most prominent display of architectural beauty. The UNI-Dome, home of the University of Northern Iowa's football team, is often viewed as the most recognizable building in the Cedar Valley, but it is beginning to show its age and was never a remarkable feat in terms of design.

Instead, the area's collection of remarkable school buildings has become its calling card. And the history dates back to when John Deere originally decided to construct its Waterloo Works. The company pressured community leaders to improve its schools to help attract workers to the Cedar Valley. As a result, Waterloo and Cedar Falls have always been among the best in the state in terms of high-quality, well-designed school buildings.

While the effort was made to create efficient buildings, some of the practices employed during the energy crisis of the late 1970s and early 1980s may have been short-sighted. Solar panels proved to be largely inefficient -- not to mention unattractive -- and daylighting was actually viewed as a negative. Designers were concerned with losing heat through the windows, but failed to recognize the cost savings of not running electric lights during the day.

Most of the technologies being utilized today, from geo-thermal pumps to building orientation to rain water collection, likely still will be relevant 30 years down the road, making upfront costs a necessity to drive down energy consumption over the long haul.

"Sometimes people are focused on things like square footage, without considering the energy costs," said Mark Holst of AHTS Architects in Waterloo. "But with rising energy prices, people are realizing the benefits of paying a little more to create efficient buildings."

Leeper and Grimes both said the country's focus on improving automobile efficiency might be overdone, as buildings account for approximately 50 percent of the country's energy consumption. And the trend of designing sustainable buildings like Lou Henry will only increase over time.

"I think at some point, building designers stepped back and took a look at the bigger picture of sustainability," said Leeper. "Now this is the trend of the architecture industry, and architects are being forced to continue pushing the envelope for bigger and better ideas."

Contact Drew Andersen at (319) 291-1418 or drew.andersen@wcfcourier.com.