February 15, 2000
RELEASE ON RECEIPT

OBERLIN COLLEGE'S ADAM JOSEPH LEWIS CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES TO UNDERGO INDOOR AIR QUALITY MONITORING

OBERLIN, OH--In order to develop building design methods that achieve good indoor air quality--and to evaluate the impact of design features used in the Adam Joseph Lewis Center at Oberlin College--the Building and Fire Research Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has initiated a research project to monitor the Lewis Center's ventilation and indoor air quality.

Construction of Phase I of the Lewis Center, one of the most advanced examples of ecological architecture in the United States and a recipient of two architectural awards, was completed in January, at which time representatives from NIST began installing testing equipment in the 13,600 square-foot structure. Monitoring should begin in late February or early March. Depending upon their findings, NIST expects to continue monitoring indoor air quality at the Lewis Center at least through the fall.

Classes in environmental design, environment and society, sustainable agriculture, conservation biology, environmental education and physical geology began in the Lewis Center in February. Oberlin College Professor of Environmental Studies David Orr, the visionary behind the Lewis Center, says that the building itself represents an effort to teach environmental ethics. "The curriculum embedded in any building instructs as fully and as effectively as any course taught in it," he says. "The use of materials that are toxic to manufacture, install or discard teaches carelessness about the use of creation and a kind of mindlessness about where things come from and at what cost. Windowless rooms, or those with windows that do not open, teach us that nature is to be kept at arm's length."

According to Orr, the Lewis Center was built using non-toxic, odor-free and low -VOC materials. The building was also designed and constructed with a number of other features to improve the indoor environment, including operable windows and ventilation rate control based on indoor carbon dioxide levels. William McDonough + Partners served as lead architect for the project.

NIST's and Oberlin's indoor air quality monitoring will involve automated measurements of building ventilation rates and indoor pollutant levels, both to measure the effectiveness of air quality planning and to develop design methods to facilitate their application in other buildings.

According to Andy Persily, a group leader for NIST, the information gathered from this research process will serve as "a testbed to evaluate new technologies for providing improved indoor environments, and to develop means of quantifying the benefits of these technologies."

NIST has been working closely with Oberlin's office of facilities planning and construction as well as with its environmental studies program. It is anticipated that the results of this monitoring will contribute to the interactive learning environment at the Lewis Center. For more information, please visit the Lewis Center website at http://www.oberlin.edu/newserv/esc/Default.html

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Media Contacts:2/15/00 #47 mj

Marci Janas

OBERLIN COLLEGE

440/775-8474\\Fax 440/775-6907

Email: marci.janas@oberlin.edu

http://www.oberlin.edu

John Blair

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS
AND TECHNOLOGIES

301/975-4261\\\Fax 301/926-1630

Email: john.blair@nist.gov

http://www.nist.gov