Category Archives: Culture & Play

The Fred and Sara Machetanz Elementary School in Wasilla has some serious green cred: It’s the first school in Alaska to receive the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Certification, earning silver. Backed by that honor, the school, located in a former gravel pit and named after a prominent Alaskan painter and his wife, has emerged as a pioneer for sustainability in the Mat-Su Borough.

Brought in by Anchorage based architectural firm McCool Carlson Green, Interior Designer Cathy Kerr made sure InterfaceFLOR was a component in the journey. High recycled content products contributed to the more than 30% total recycled content needed for the building to achieve its LEED certification. Plus, InterfaceFLOR products help maintain an increased indoor air quality in the school since tiles install with no glue and meet the highest standards for indoor air quality.

And then there’s the aesthetics. Kerr carefully selected bold color combinations to contrast against Alaska’s monochromatic winter landscape while creating a stimulating learning environment. In addition, the dramatic multi-story design takes advantage of all available sunlight, which InterfaceFLOR tiles are designed to stand up to. Tiles feature 100% solution dyed nylon that keeps its color and doesn’t fade, even in bright sunlight.

According to Kerr, there’s some science behind the color scheme at this award winning elementary school. “I designed the interior of the school so that we used colors from all the segments of the color wheel,” she says. “We know that people respond better in a full color spectrum environment. Students learn more with color in their environment as opposed to white everywhere. So with that in mind I went searching for the perfect carpet tile to do that, and I found InterfaceFLOR.”

The result was an all around win, says Mat-Su Borough facilities manager Don Carney. “We liked the design so much that we’re going to build two more using that as a prototype.”

McCool Carlson Green Principal John Weir adds, “There are many different teaching styles and learning modalities. So we try to create spaces that encourage teachers to take advantage of those differences. The buildings incorporate and accommodate that flexibility in teaching and learning.”