Helping EPA Graphically Explain Best Practices over the Web

Online Guide - EPA's Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools

Across the country, school districts spend tens of billions of dollars building new schools and renovating old ones. Often, discussions about the building tend to revolve around the size of the computer lab or the new furniture, and too little attention is paid to the possible, and common, flaws that can contribute adversely to the indoor air quality of the schools. Indoor air quality not only affects the well-being of students and staff, it ultimately affects the life span of the school building itself. With knowledge and foresight, many of these potential problems can be easily avoided when taken into account during the design phase.

The EPA Office of Indoor Air Quality works to educate the stakeholders in new school construction--school boards, administrators, community groups, architects and designers--about these issues. As part of that effort, it hired PPC in 2000 to create an online guide to assist these groups in making the early decisions that will result in healthier schools and more productive learning environments. This became part of the IAQ's Design Tools for Schools website.

Employing color animation laid over architectural drawings, PPC created a series of animated illustrations that graphically and simply demonstrate, in a "before and after" scenario, eight of the most common design problems and some potential solutions. For example, flat roofs contribute to mold growth in schools because water tends to run off the roof into standing puddles right next to the building; possible solutions include use of well-placed awnings or landscaping so that the water drains away from the school structure quickly.

By using architectural drawings as the base, PPC staff retained a professional, technical look for the guide that appeals to engineers and architects. They made sure each illustration is immediately understandable to the non-technical people involved and all parties could quickly comprehend the primary problems and possible solutions.

eGovernment believes that making this kind of information easily available is eGovernment at its best.


CONTACT INFORMATION
Craig Cheney
Project Performance Corporation
703-748-7110
ccheney@ppc.com