Environmental Studies 399 Senior Capstone
By: Ryan Ludlow
St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN
Green Architecture
Green Academics
Home Page
Why go Green?
Design Components
Green Academics
St. Olaf Green Science Center
A Sense of Place
References
   "The typical campus is regarded mostly as a place where learning occurs, but is, itself, believed to be the source of no useful learning.  It is intended to be convenient, efficient, or aesthetically pleasing, but not instructional."
David Orr, 1999.     
    Oberlin Lewis Center  
Oberlin College's Green Building the Lewis Center*
     As Orr so nicely points out, academic campus buildings are not generally considered to be part of an education.  The education is supposed to take place inside the classroom and the building is just a location to learn in.  However, the building is educating, even if people are unaware of it.  If students are learning in a building which wastes energy, then it tells students that energy is cheap and that it is ok to waste it.  The building also teaches students how to ignore where the building materials originated from or where wastes within the building go to.  This gives students the illusions that there aren't actually environmental damages occurring, or that these damages are occurring somewhere else and the students don't need to be worried (Orr, 1999). 
     Through the use of green architecture on academic campuses, it is possible to teach entire campuses ways that promote ecological competence and mindfulness.  Green buildings teach students that there are potential solutions out there and that these solutions need to be pursued now.  
     David Orr is a leader in Environmental education and he believes that it is essential for academics to become more green.  College is a time in which the mind of young adults are being filled with information, both good and bad.  If students go to classes in buildings which waste energy and other resources, then they will most likely go into the world and work/live in buildings that waste resources.  By promoting the use of green architecture and environmental awareness Orr hopes to plant a seed in college students minds which will sprout into a life of environmental competence and more sustainable lifestyles.  Institutions of higher learning have a special responsibility to address the environmental problem around us. 
    Educational institutions have a unique opportunity to teach young, eager minds about environmental problems.  If students are being taught in a sustainable building, that conserves energy, water, materials, and waste, then the students will take this with them into the real world (Simpson, 2003). 
*Pictured used with permission from Oberlin College.
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