Energy Strategies

The Environmental Studies Center (ESC) at Oberlin College is a much-admired and recognizable model of ecologically-friendly design. It serves as a pedagogical tool which encourages mindfulness of materials selection, energy efficiency, intelligent water use and wastewater recycling. Designed from 1996 to 2000, it remains today one of the most definitive Case Studies for High Performance Buildings.

The design of the ESC blurs the distinction between indoors and outdoors. The naturally ventilated indoor spaces are flooded with daylight. The bright, two-storey atrium provides the campus with a winter garden that is warmed by the sun, making it an inviting meeting place year-round. One of the ESC’s primary goals is to be a “net energy exporter.” This allows the structure to generate more energy than it needs for operation; at the same time, it maintains an acceptable range of comfort levels. To achieve this, the design team has employed advanced energy modeling technique to reduce the energy demands of the building to a fraction of normal levels. Solar energy is harnessed through both active and passive means. For example, photovoltaic cells on the building’s south-facing roof provide electrical power.

Passive solar design elements, including overhanging eaves and shading trellises, shade the summer sun while providing winter heat gain. The mechanical systems let each of the building’s spaces to be individually controlled, while providing 100% fresh air for ventilation throughout.

A raised floor system serves as an under floor plenum for air supply, so air can be delivered directly to the occupant’s breathing space. This system also gives long term flexibility for electrical data and communications wiring. Classrooms and the Resource Center are located on the building’s south side, where large windows allow for winter solar gain and year-round daylight. Service spaces span the north side, which is thermally protected by an exterior earth berm and tree grove.

The Living Machine, the biological wastewater treatment system, mediates between the building and the surrounding landscape. The Living Machine replaces the “old” way of treating wastewater with chemicals to methods in line with the latest environmental technology. An array of living organisms, including both plants and microorganisms, remove harmful bacteria from the water by replicating the natural cleansing and filtering processes of wetlands. The Living Machine is connected to the landscape, which allows water to flow from the purification tanks inside the “polishing” pond outside. The grey water is then recycled to the toilets for re-use. The wetlands and pond serve as another cleansing mechanism for non-point pollution that collects in the immediate area, on roads and in parking lots. Water treated by natural filtering methods using plants, microorganisms and soils is often cleaner than water treated by conventional methods and, therefore, contributes to a healthier regional watershed.