"A central philosophical and methodological underpinning of ecological design is the notion that natural ecological systems should serve as a template for human designs. In contrast to most contemporary architectural endeavors, and in keeping with this principle of ecological design, the Center was explicitly conceived as an integrated building-landscape system that would continue to change and to improve in performance over time." - Prof. John Petersen

In his seminal paper, "The Strategy of Ecosystem Development," ecologist E.P. Odum (1969) outlined a series of characteristic changes that occur in the structure and function of ecosystems as they mature. Such changes include:

• A shift from relatively open to relatively closed material cycles
• Increasing efficiency in trapping incoming solar radiation
• Decreasing external energy required to support a unit of internal structure
• Characteristic changes in biodiversity
• Development of internal feedback loops in regulating ecological function

Judged from this ecological perspective, the Center is a very young system. The orchard, wetland and ecological wastewater treatment systems are still exhibiting rapid changes in community structure and function. Likewise, mechanical systems are still being installed, adjusted, and modified. These changes imply that we can expect a steady increase in the performance of the Center into the future. Nevertheless, it is instructive to reflect on the developmental trajectory during the first few years that the building has been occupied. Efforts to research the short- and long-term evolution of the system are underway, providing ongoing opportunities to educate a variety of audiences, including Oberlin College students, regional kindergarten through high school students, other university students and faculty, architecture and design professionals, and lay audiences.

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