A few years ago, Paul Gerner began to gather a group of architects in Las vegas to ask them what it would take to design a public school that used 50 percent less energy, cost much less to build and obviously improved student learning. “I think half of then fell off their chairs,” Gerner says.
Gerner manages school facilities (设施)for Clark County, Nevada, a district roughly the size of Massachusetts. By 2018,143,000 additional students will enter the already crowded public-education system. Gerner needs 73 new schools to house them. Four architecture teams have nearly finished designing primary school prototypes (样品); they plan to construct their schools starting in 2009. The district will then assess how well the schools perform, and three winners will copy those designs in 50 to 70 new buildings.
Green schools are appearing all over , but in Clark County, which stands out for its vastness, such aggressive targets are difficult because deign requirements like more natural light for students go against the realities of a desert climate. “One of the biggest challenges is getting the right site orientation(朝向),” Mark McGinty, a director at SH Architecture, says. His firm recently completed a high school in Las Vegas. “You have the same building, same set of windows, but if its orientation is incorrect and it faces the sun, it will be really expensive to cool.”
Surprisingly, the man responsible for one of re most progressive green-design competitions has doubts about ideas of eco-friendly buildings. “I don’t believe in the new green religion,” Gerner says. “Some of the building technologies that you get are impractical. I’m interested in those that work.” But he wouldn’t mind if some green features inspire students. He says he hopes to set up green energy systems that allow them to learn about the process of harvesting wind and solar power. “You never know what’s going to start the interest of a child to study math and science,” he says.

A few years ago, Paul Gerner began to gather a group of architects in Las vegas to ask them what it would take to design a public school that used 50 percent less energy, cost much less to build and obviously improved student learning. “I think half of then fell off their chairs,” Gerner says.
许多年前，保罗·戛纳在拉斯维加斯招集了一群建筑师，询问他们建立一所能够节约50%能源、更少的建筑费用且能够明显促进学生学习的公办学校需要些什么。“我想，（当他们听到我的想法时）一半的人都从椅子上摔下来了。”戛纳这样说道。

Gerner manages school facilities (设施)for Clark County, Nevada, a district roughly the size of Massachusetts. By 2018,143,000 additional students will enter the already crowded public-education system. Gerner needs 73 new schools to house them. Four architecture teams have nearly finished designing primary school prototypes (样品); they plan to construct their schools starting in 2009. The district will then assess how well the schools perform, and three winners will copy those designs in 50 to 70 new buildings.
戛纳在内华达州的克拉克郡管理学校设施，该区的大小与马萨诸塞州差不多大。到2018年，会有143，000名新增的学生进入早已人满为患的公共教育系统。戛纳需要再建73所学校来容纳他们。四个建筑设计团队已经完成了小学样品的设计工作。他们计划在
2009年开始学校的基建工作。然后地区（行政部门）会对学校的表现进行评估，其中的3个优胜者会按照他们的设计再建50—70所学校。

Green schools are appearing all over , but in Clark County, which stands out for its vastness, such aggressive targets are difficult because deign requirements like more natural light for students go against the realities of a desert climate. “One of the biggest challenges is getting the right site orientation(朝向),” Mark McGinty, a director at SH Architecture, says. His firm recently completed a high school in Las Vegas. “You have the same building, same set of windows, but if its orientation is incorrect and it faces the sun, it will be really expensive to cool.”
绿色学校现在随处可见，但是在克拉克郡，绿色学校却是因为其巨大而闻名。其宏伟目标的困难之处在于需要给学生提供更多的自然光线以抵抗沙漠气候这个现实。“最大的挑战之一是确定（校舍）的正确朝向，”SH建筑公司的主管马克·麦金迪这样说道，他的公司近期在拉斯维加斯建成了一所高中。“同样的建筑物，同样的窗户（配备），但是如果朝向不对（比如面朝太阳），那么学校的制冷（费用）就非常昂贵。”

Surprisingly, the man responsible for one of re most progressive green-design competitions has doubts about ideas of eco-friendly buildings. “I don’t believe in the new green religion,” Gerner says. “Some of the building technologies that you get are impractical. I’m interested in those that work.” But he wouldn’t mind if some green features inspire students. He says he hopes to set up green energy systems that allow them to learn about the process of harvesting wind and solar power. “You never know what’s going to start the interest of a child to study math and science,” he says.
让人觉得惊讶的是，这个负责宏伟的绿色设计比赛的负责人却对（所谓）“生态友好型”建筑的理念持怀疑态度。“我并不推崇绿色信仰，”戛纳说，“许多你得到的建筑技术（其实）根本不实用。我只对那些有用的（技术）感兴趣。”但他并不介意某些绿色的特征激发学生的（学习）。他希望能够建立绿色能源系统，让孩子们学习巨大的风能和太阳能（能量转换过程）的（知识）。“你永远不知道是什么让孩子产生学习数学和科学的兴趣。”戛纳这样说道。