Design on the Edge: the Making of a High-Performance Building / David W
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
D College and university administrators will spend 17 environment/architecture billion dollars on new buildings over the next few years. esign Design Design on the Edge is essential reading for architects, “Design on the Edge is an original, powerful, and inspiring book. David Orr has been planners, and environmentalists who need to sell the on the cutting edge of sustainability issues for decades, and few academics can tell on the Edge innovations of ecological design to wary institutions, the truth with the humor, insight, and graceful style he brings. Here he challenges higher and for educators and students whose profession is education to rise to the challenge of addressing the critical issues that threaten on the The Making of a undermined by the very buildings they work in—and our survival, a task that requires moral courage and passion, as well as science and High-Performance for anyone who has ever tried to change an organization reason.”—Sim Van der Ryn, author of Ecological Design and Design for Life, and for the better. Director, Center for Regenerative Design, College of Marin Building “With the wisdom of Wendell Berry and the fervor of Ian McHarg, Orr challenges David W. Orr architecture and higher education to repair the breach between the built and natural Edge The story of the Adam Joseph Lewis Center at Oberlin David W. Orr is Director of the Environmental environments and between institutional rhetoric and behavior. His is a compelling College—the first substantially green building to Studies Program at Oberlin College. He is the argument for both designers and educators to get their houses in better ecological be built on a college campus—encompasses more author of The Nature of Design: Ecology, Culture, order.”—Douglas Kelbaugh, Dean, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban than the particulars of one building. In Design on the and Human Intention; The Last Refuge: Patriotism, Planning, University of Michigan Edge, David Orr writes about the planning and design Politics, and the Environment in an Age of Terror; of Oberlin’s environmental studies building as part of Earth in Mind: On Education, Environment, and the “With this bold and insightful book, Orr has provided the design and construction Design a larger story about the art and science of ecological Human Prospect; and Ecological Literacy. industry exactly what we need: a candid, detailed account of the actions and results of design and the ability of institutions of higher learning the Lewis Center, one of the most ambitious projects of our time. It’s an essential on the Edge themselves to learn. read for anyone interested in creating buildings or communities that increase health The Lewis Center, which has attracted worldwide and vitality.”—Bob Berkebile, BNIM Architects attention as a model of ecological design, operates according to environmental principles. It is powered “David Orr writes with verve, wit, and wisdom about the most pressing issue of our time: entirely by solar energy, features landscaping with fruit ‘How are we to live sustainably?’ There are few who have reflected on this question in a #862591 07/17/06 trees and vegetable gardens, and houses a Living more comprehensive and engaging manner. Moreover, as this book demonstrates, Orr Orr The Making of a Machine, which processes all wastewater for reuse in is a leading voice in articulating and building a revolutionary response.”—Mary Evelyn the building or landscape. Orr puts the Lewis Center Tucker, Yale University High-Performance into historical design context and describes the obstacles and successes he encountered in obtaining funds “Is it possible to change the world with one small building? David Orr gives us the story of Building and college approval, interweaving the particulars of the the Lewis Center for Environmental Studies, a building that makes us think differently center with thoughts on the larger environmental about the spaces we inhabit. If we are to succeed in addressing global warming and and societal issues the building process illustrates. the degradation of the environment, we need beacons of hope, and this is one.” —Bill Browning, Principal, Browning + Bannon LLC, Washington, DC Equal parts analysis, personal reflection, and call to action, Design on the Edge illustrates the process of institutional change, institutional learning, and the Cover photographs by David W. Orr political economy of design. It describes how the idea David W. Orr of the Lewis Center originated and was translated into reality with the help of such environmental visionaries as 978-0-262-15117-7 0-262-15117-0 The MIT Press William McDonough and John Todd, and how the building Massachusetts Institute of Technology has performed since its completion. Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142 http://mitpress.mit.edu (continued on back flap) Design on the Edge Design on the Edge The Making of a High-Performance Building David W. Orr The MIT Press Cambridge, Massachusetts London, England © 2006 Massachusetts Institute of Technology All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or informa- tion storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from the publisher. MIT Press books may be purchased at special quantity discounts for business or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail <special_sales@mitpress .mit.edu> or write to Special Sales Department, The MIT Press, 55 Hayward Street, Cambridge, MA 02142. This book was set in Sabon by Graphic Composition, Inc. Printed on recycled paper and bound in the United States of America. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Orr, David W., 1944– Design on the edge: the making of a high-performance building / David W. Orr. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-262-15117-0—ISBN 978-0-262-15117-7 (hc : alk. paper) 1. Adam Joseph Lewis Center (Oberlin, Ohio). 2. Oberlin College—Buildings. 3. Buildings—Ohio—Oberlin—History. I. Title. LD4170.A32O77 2006 727'.3077123—dc22 2006044259 10 987654321 For Adam Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction xi I Context 1A Meditation on Building 1 2 The Origins of Ecological Design 23 3 The Design Revolution: Notes for Practitioners 41 II The Building 4 Origins 61 5 The Building 77 6 Landscape: Monologue to Dialogue 95 7 The Gift Must Move: Reflections on Costs, Economics, Giving, and Receiving 115 III Evaluation 8 The Politics of Institutional Change 137 9 Planning to Learn: A Digression on Institutional Learning 159 10 The Political Economy of Buildings in the Postpetroleum World 175 viii Contents IV Pedagogy 11 The Origins of the Ideas 189 12 The Green Campus Movement 207 13 The Rest of the Story 221 Appendix A: Oberlin College Environmental Policy 231 References 257 Index 269 Acknowledgments The Lewis Center is a collective accomplishment, and in naming those deserving credit I will undoubtedly omit some—a frailty of memory, not of gratitude. Success of the project owes much to my colleagues past and present at Oberlin: David Benzing, Beverly Burgess, Norman Care, Leo Evans, Karen Florini, Dierdre Holmes, David Love, Al MacKay, Brad Masi, Gene Matthews, John Petersen, Bob Scheren, Harlan Wilson, Cheryl Wolfe-Cragin, and President Nancy Dye who allowed it to proceed. Among those whose generosity made it possible, I owe a special ac- knowledgment to Adam and Peter Lewis, Peter and Mimi Buckley, the George Gund Foundation, Dick and Mim Hallock, the Heinz Founda- tion, Randall Jones, Pete Lavigne, Carl McDaniel, John Powers, Michael Stranahan, and the Educational Foundation of America. The building described below reflects the vision, design skill, and stam- ina of the lead architects William McDonough + Partners, particularly Kevin Burke for his patience, dedication, and talent; Bill McDonough for his incandescence; and Russell Perry, who defines coolness under fire. The building also reflects the extraordinary skills of the members of the design group assembled around the project: John Lyle, who gave us heart and guidance, but did not live to see the results; Bill Browning, Carol and Colin Franklin, Amory Lovins, Ron Perkins, Shanti Pless, Michael Shaw, Steven Strong, John Todd, Paul Torcellini, Adrian Tuluca, Jeff Wartelle, and the engineers at Lev Zetlin. The actual building reflects the practical talents, labor, and dedication of its builders and those who made it work, including David Benzing, Leo Evans, Stan Peters, John Petersen, Marty Plato, Chad Porter, and Don Van Dyke. x Acknowledgments I appreciate the time, skill, and good judgment of those who read the early drafts of the book, and whose comments, criticisms, and suggestions made it a better book than it otherwise would have been: David Benzing, Bob Longsworth, Wilson Orr, and one anonymous reader who knows a lot about the theory and practice of punctuation. To Clay Morgan at The MIT Press, I owe special thanks for his interest in the book. I appreciate the editorial skill of Deborah Cantor-Adams and Cindy Milstein, who improved the manuscript. But each is absolved of any remaining flaws herein. And to Elaine, a lover of children, music, and greenness, heartfelt gratitude for enduring the time that went into both the building and this book. Introduction This is the story of a small building in Ohio that was one of the first, if not the first, substantially green or high-performance buildings on a college campus. It spans the decade between 1995 and 2005. In that time, Amer- icans impeached a president, balanced the federal budget and then un- balanced it again, witnessed the largest corporate bankruptcy ever, opted out of the Kyoto treaty, suffered a major terrorist attack, fought wars in the Balkans, Afghanistan, and Iraq, evacuated a major city, and became acutely aware of our vulnerability to malice, the forces of nature, and in- competence and malfeasance in high places.