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Northland College (WI) Env bldg $ sust course (fwd)

Hi Permies this little article was worth reading. Maybe someone can copy it
and forward to your local school / college.

Sender: owner-SAED-SHARE-L@cornell.edu

Date: Sun, 25 Oct 1998 08:53:40 +0200
From: Lee Row <leerow@spidernet.com.cy>
Subject: Re: building plans

Dear Heidi,
Check out Northland College's new Environmental Living and Learning
Center - right in your back yard:

http://www.northland.edu/studentlife/ELLC/index.html

>From their website:
(quote)
..."One of the most environmentally advanced residence halls in the
world."
          --William H. Mansfield III former deputy executive
director,                    United Nations Environment Programme

Northland College opens the world's most advanced environmental
residence hall in the fall of 1998. The structure provides a unique
living and learning opportunity emphasizing resource efficiency and
renewable energy.

The building's $4.1 million cost represents an investment in Northland's
commitment to apply in practice what it teaches about developing a
sustainable future. The new residence hall was designed with hundreds of
environmental considerations in mind. Originally, the goal was to
achieve energy and water efficiency at a rate 40% greater than a typical
building designed to code. The Energy Center of Wisconsin (an
organization funded by power utility companies) assisted the College in
engaging the Weidt Group to analyze the building's projected energy use.
The study estimates that the structure will
surpass the College's goal by another 10%, achieving a 50% greater
efficiency level.

The two-story design features three wings housing, at full occupancy,
114 students. Living arrangements feature three styles: regular double
rooms, suites, and apartments. It also includes nine lounge or study
areas, and four different energy and waste management systems.

Environmental Features
Among the special environmental features is a 120-foot 20 kilowatt wind
tower to be located at the northeast corner of the building. Three
photovoltaic arrays will provide efficient active solar energy
collection and help study the efficiency -- one array is stationary, a
second one tracks the sun's path horizontally, and the third tracks both
horizontally and vertically to  maximize solar gain.

Fourteen solar panels placed on the roof of the south wing will preheat
hot water for use by residents. Composting waterless toilets in two of
the  apartments will provide a demonstration of their function and
efficiency. The apartments have passive solar design and share two
greenhouses.

At a recent international conference which focused on strategies to help
colleges become more environmentally sensitive, a Northland College
presentation at the "Greening of the Campus" conference at Ball State
University last year focused on energy considerations, building
materials, sustainable living practices, and student involvement in the
planning process.

Planning Involvement
Northland College students joined architects and others on Northland's
Campus Facilities Master Plan Committee to select the most
environment-friendly materials for the new facility. Cedar shakes on
exterior walls were not transported from western states, but grown in
the nearby northern forests of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Other
structural wood components were similarly grown and milled in the nearby
region to reduce the impact of transportation on the environment.

Classroom Application
Tom Wojciechowski, Director of Student Development at Northland, will be
teaching a course for ELLC residents called "Sustainable Living in a
College Community." In it, students will study various aspects of
personal living habits and choices from the perspective of environmental
impacts. Additional studies in sustainable living will focus on energy,
water, food, consumption, and waste. The course is part of Northland's
Environmental Studies program and begins with
the building's first residents in the fall 1998 term.

Hammel-Green-Abrahamson Architects led the design process and the Frank
Tomlinson Company of Ashland served as general contractor. (end of
quote)

It looks as tho you could contact Northland for resources, etc.

Lee Row in Sunny Nicosia


***************************

Nancy Grudens-Schuck, Ph.D.
Department of Education
422 Kennedy Hall
Cornell University
Ithaca, New York 14853

E-mail: ng13@cornell.edu
Phone office: (607) 255-2508
FAX office: (607) 255-7905

***************************