Principal of the firm William McDonough + Partners in Charlottesville, Virginia, McDonough is dean of the School of Architecture and Elson Professor of Architecture at the University of Virginia. A leader in ecological architecture for two decades, he designed the first solar-heated house in Ireland in 1976 and the first "green" office, the Environmental Defense Fund headquarters, in 1985. A founding member of the American Institute of Architects' Committee on the Environment and an advisor to the President's Council on Sustainable Development, McDonough was also the lead designer for the "Greening of the White House," a $50-million project initiated by President Bill Clinton to make the White House more economically and environmentally sound. In preparation for the World's Fair in 2000, the city of Hannover, Germany, commissioned McDonough to write "The Hannover Principles," a document outlining design principles for participating architects.
William McDonough + Partners has designed numerous commercial, institutional, academic, retail, and residential projects. The firm advised on the design of an environmental prototype Wal-Mart store in Lawrence, Kansas, and is currently working on a sustainable high school for Albemarle County, Virginia.
Interest in a campus environmental center dates from 1981, when a group of students developed proposals for an environmental cooperative house, said Brad Masi '93, who is coordinating communications and campus and community participation in the project. The current project stems from a 1992-93 course on Ecological Architecture, which brought 12 "green design" experts to Oberlin to help students develop design criteria for a center. Masi and his coworker Deirdre Holmes '93, who is coordinating the design and planning aspects of the project, were both students in that course.
Burgeoning student interest in Oberlin's environmental studies program, however, is what has spurred the current project. Begun in 1981, the environmental studies program had about a dozen majors by 1990. Currently there are 60 majors, and environmental studies is the seventh most popular major in the College of Arts and Sciences, according to Bev Burgess, the program's administrative assistant. In 1994-95, a total of 752 students&emdash;34 percent of the student body&emdash;enrolled in program courses, Burgess said.
This booming student interest prompted David Orr, professor of environmental studies, to propose that the college build "a highly visible model of ecological design in a zero-emissions building." President Nancy Dye gave the go-ahead for Orr to begin raising funds for the project in June 1995, and the Board of Trustees gave the project its approval last November.
It is envisioned that the center will include an open atrium, community meeting space, workrooms, a library, and faculty offices. It will incorporate recycled building materials, ecological waste-water treatment systems, geothermal and wind energy systems, and sustainable landscaping. Orr plans to make the project an educational venture from start to finish, with students involved at every stage. Art students can help with design, economics students can do cost comparisons, and environmental-studies students can develop ecological design principles. Even the building itself will be educational, with hands-on demonstrations and exhibits. "This building needs to be an interdisciplinary center where lots of different activities and perspectives come together," Orr said.
The planning process will include what Orr calls a "full-cost accounting," an accounting of both the financial and environmental costs of construction. He plans to have students develop methods to offset those environmental costs, such as replanting trees to replace those used as lumber. This kind of accounting is rarely done, he said, and the Oberlin project will demonstrate the process. During construction, Orr plans to hold workshops for builders and developers on advanced design and environmentally sound materials and energy technologies.
By the end of 1995, Orr had raised $900,000 of the $2.5 million needed. Fund raising has been greatly helped by a $500,000 gift from John and Libby Bowen Morse, both 1935 graduates, and by grants of $225,000 from the Educational Foundation of America and $50,000 from the George Gund Foundation.
Over the next four months, McDonough + Partners will work with the Oberlin community to develop a consensus on the center's mission, decide on space allocations, and select a site. By June 1996 conceptual designs should be completed. Ground breaking is set to take place in June 1997, with occupancy set for July 1998.
The project will maintain a home page (http://www. oberlin.edu/~envs) as part of Oberlin Online, the College's World Wide Web site.
-Anne C. Paine