Filed under: Uncategorized
Berea College has a sustainable village on campus for student families.
Berea College’s “green dorm” is much more than a dorm; instead, it’s an entire on-campus “village”. The Berea, Kentucy college’s Ecovillage was designed to provide housing for student families (much like Stanford’s Escondido Village) and work opportunities for environmentally-minded students. The Ecovillage includes 50 apartments, a Sustainability Demonstration house, wastewater treatment facilities and a childcare facility. Goals for the Ecovillage include 75% reductions in energy use, water use, and composting 50% of waste (as well as wastewater treatment and an enthusiastic recycling program).
The Ecovillage’s high performance standards are met using a variety of sustainable design elements, including passive solar heating, PV panels, rooftop rainwater capture for irrigation and wind-powered electrical generators. The apartments were constructed using Structurally Insulated Panels (SIPS), low-E windows, heat exchangers, CFLs, solar light tubes, ground based heat pumps, clothes lines (instead of dryers), low-flow showers, faucets and toilets. The Sustainability and Environmental Studies (SENS) demonstration house has a composting toilet, 8″ thick, straw-bale walls, and recycled countertop/cabinet materials. Once again, Berea depends upon participation as well as design to meet its sustainability goals; regular classes on resource conservation are offered to the students and families of the Ecovillage.
Leave a Comment so far
Leave a comment
