newsroom/works in progress

OBERLIN COLLEGE ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES CENTER

by William McDonough + Partners

 

At its most fundamental level, the Environmental Studies Center at Oberlin College will be a place of wonder and beauty which celebrates the interaction of human and natural environments. Because we believe that people would rather send their day outdoors, the design of the ESC building blurs the distinction between indoors and outdoors. Indoor spaces are filed with daylight, and are naturally ventilated. The light-filled, two-story atrium provides the campus with a winter garden -- an interior meeting place, warmed by the sun, for gatherings throughout the year.

The building's disposition of spaces will come from an integration of natural energy flows and the building's energy needs, as well as its use as a teaching and public space. The atrium will be the primary organizing feature. It will act as a public square, where people feel welcome to gather formally or informally. Daylighting and natural ventilation will enhance the feeling of an "outdoor room," and the atrium's role as the building's physical and social center.

To take advantage of daylight and heat gain, major public rooms such as workspaces and classrooms will face south and west. The northern side of the building will be shielded from prevailing winds by an earth berm. Higher up the north facade, a substantial clerestory across the length of the building will take advantage of the consistency and lack of glare of the northern light. To the east, the entry to the auditorium will be a brightly daylight, south facing extension of the building's main corridor that will also provide visual access to the pond outside. The Living Machine, the natural wastewater treatment facility, will have both southern and eastern exposures to daylight.

The roof shape will unite important energy and design considerations. Its rising curve will enhance the effectiveness of the photovoltaic panels by tilting them toward the sun, even as it substantially enhances daylighting and convective air flow though the north-facing clerestory. Broad eaves, particularly on the south, will shade the interior from the direct summer sun, while also upholding an architectural tradition of the Oberlin campus. The lower level of the northern roof will be covered with grass to provide fast absorption and slow release of storm water. This system has the additional advantage of providing thermal and acoustical insulation.

As a replicable model of ecological design, the ESC project seeks to demonstrate how "state of the art" thinking can be applied to "state of the shelf" materials and building systems. "State of the shelf" refers to a range of products that are readily available. Throughout the design process, the design team has been mindful of how even the most advanced systems ultimately must serve the needs of the occupants of the building.

The building systems designed for the ESC demonstrate how nature's principle that "waste equals food" can be successfully adapted towards manufacturing processes and building materials. These man-made systems, as products of service, are designed to be sent back to the manufacturer for continuous disassembly and reuse. The manufacturer continues to own the product, since Oberlin College is only interested in the services provided by the product. The result is that the useful life of the ESC is extended, because it is designed to be adaptive to changes in building systems over time, without compromising the building's performance or the comfort of it inhabitants.

The ESC mechanical system is the result of extensive computer modeling of the building's energy performance. Conceptually, the mechanical system is based upon a strategy of reducing and balancing the simultaneous heating and cooling loads within the building, primarily during spring and autumn. This design results directly from the specifics of the local climate, the building's orientation and layout of spaces, and the ESC program requirements for fresh air and daylighting to all spaces. As a result, heat pumps transfer heat from the south side of the building to the north side, as the demand necessitates. The heat pumps are coupled with geothermal wells, allowing the building to extract heating and cooling from the stable temperatures below the earth's surface.

 

Features and Innovations

The innovative integration of these systems in the roof and wall treatments will make a place for emerging technologies and values of sustainable agriculture that is appropriate to the established architectural traditions of Oberlin College. Building Program 1. Entryway (300 net sq. ft) The entryway will include demonstration tanks as extensions of the adjacent Living Machine. 2. Atrium (1500 sq. ft.) At the heart of the ESC, the atrium will link the interior to the landscape, providing daylight and natural ventilation to the entire building. The atrium will be a flexible space that accommodates informal gatherings, discussions, and formal receptions and speeches. The west side of the atrium will serve as a welcoming space for visitors and tour groups and will orient them to the organizations and design features of the ESC. 3. Small Auditorium (1400 net sq. ft.) The small auditorium will be a high-technology, state-of-the-art facility seating 100 people. It will accommodate lectures, presentations, and large classes. 4. Resource Center (550 net sq. ft) The resource center will hold the Environmental Studies Information Center collection currently located in Mudd Library. Computer terminals will supplement the periodical and book collection, providing access to the campus library system and larger networks. 5. Workspace #1: Charette Space (830 net s. ft.) The charette space will be an open workspace for semester-long projects. It will be secured, allowing projects and materials to remain in use throughout the semester. 6. Workspace #2: Large Classroom (525 net s. ft.) This space will be used for lecture classes of 30-35 people, with moveable desks to support a variety of teaching formats. 7. Workspace #3: Large Classroom-Divisible (700 net sq. ft.) This classroom will be used for both large lecture formats, and smaller seminars. 8. Faculty Offices (600 net sq. ft.) The faculty offices will provide permanent office space for Environmental Studies full-time faculty, as well as shared or temporary office space for part-time faculty. Flexible space will be provided where faculty can gather with students and other faculty members. 9. Administrative Office (300 net sq. ft.) This space will serve as the administrative center for Environmental Studies faculty and students. 10. Small Meeting Room/Conference Room (400 net sq. ft.) This space will accommodate small meetings or conferences for about 15 people. 11. Kitchen (150 net sq. ft.) The kitchen will provide a space for food preparation and storage for events occurring in the center. 12. Future Program Development (500 net sq. ft.) This will provide flexible space that will enable the Environmental Studies Program to expand and to accommodate future program needs. 13. Living Machine (950 net sq. ft.) A natural waste water treatment facility.*   *For more on Living Machines see "The Schuylkill Maid" by J. Baldwin.

 

William McDonough, principal of William McDonough + Partners architectural firm, currently serves as dean of School of Architecture at University of Virginia.

 

To access previous "Works In Progress" columns, click the "Archives" button below.