The AJLC web site represents the collaborative effort of Oberlin students, faculty, and staff. The objective has been to combine compelling graphics that display real-time and historical data on building performance, with text and photos in order to tell the dynamic story of the Adam Joseph Lewis Center. The website is intended to educate the public on opportunities for ecologically designing the built environment. At the same time, the process of installing and maintaining the data monitoring system and the web site have served as core components of the curriculum of the Environmental Studies Program at Oberlin College.

The format and organization of the current web site and of the plasma display in the atrium of the AJLC is largely the work of Michael Murray (OC '04), Vladislav (Vladi) Shunturov (OC '05), Gavin Platt (OC '06), Heather Elmer (OC '97, Environmental Studies Intern) and John Petersen (OC '87, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies and Biology). Heather and Michael have played key roles in revising and porting content from the old web site to make it work on the new one, as well as in developing new content. John has overseen, guided and edited the whole process.

The original AJLC web site was the design project of a one-time course offering in Fall of 2001. "Practicum in Green Building Technology Education and Display" (ENVS314) was organized and led by John Petersen with much collaboration and help from Audra Abt (OC '01, Environmental Studies Intern '01-'02) and Cheryl Wolf-Cragin (OC '88, AJLC Building Manager). The ideas and even some of the text that emerged from work in this class are still visible in the current version of the web site. Audra deserves much of the credit for the enormous task of turning these ideas into a fully functional web site. Gabriel Giles (OC '03) served as both HTML guru and graphic design consultant throughout the process of implementing the first web site.

Alex Maly (OC '03) deserves special recognition for the critical role that he played over a three year period in the initial wiring and programming of the data monitoring system, in development of the Access database and in the design and implementation of the first generation of real-time graphics featured on the web site and on the original atrium display; John Petersen still wonders whether the data monitoring system would have gotten off the ground without Alex as a collaborator. Although they did not work directly on the web site, Shanti Pless, Paul Torcellini and Ed Hancock from the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) collaborated on developing the data monitoring system, and their expertise was critical. Computer Science student Erik Shwartz (OC '02) developed two critical pieces of software that initially were used to transfer data into a database.

Credit for the vision and the fundraising necessary to build the AJLC, and for the concept of architecture as a tool for teaching environmental lessons ("architecture as pedagogy"), belongs to David Orr, Director of the Environmental Studies Program at Oberlin College. Credit also goes to the Lewis family and to others who came to share this vision and who made the financial resources available to see the project through to fruition. See also: Adam J. Lewis Biography.

Return: AJLC Home