The School of Architecture and the U.S. Green Buildings Council-St. Louis Chapter will present “The Sustainable University Campus,” a national colloquium on campus environmental design, March 28 and 30.
The event will feature lectures, workshops and case-study presentations by almost a dozen architects, engineers, landscape architects, campus facilities managers and environmental systems consultants.
“Environmental design is not simply a matter of individual buildings,” said organizer Peter MacKeith, associate dean in the School of Architecture. “It’s also about energy and water usage, about infrastructure and resource management, about procurement strategies and recycling.
“For universities, the question is, ‘How can we look to the future and take a lead role in terms of planning, facilities and operations?'”
The Sustainable University Campus consists of two daylong events: a series of campus ecology workshops March 28, and “The Sustainable University: The Chancellor’s Sesquicentennial Colloquium” March 30.
The March 28 workshops, led by the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) Campus Ecology Group, will begin at noon with a luncheon in Holmes Lounge. Leith Sharp, director of the Harvard Green Campus Initiative, will present a keynote address on “Key Components to Developing a Sustainable Campus.” Sharp will be introduced by Ralph Thaman, associate vice chancellor for facilities planning and management.
Kathy Cacciola, senior coordinator of the NWF’s Campus Ecology Program, will present a “National Review of the State of Campus Sustainability” and introduce workshop goals and processes.
At 1:30 p.m., participants can take part in one of three workshops in Givens Hall: “Building Design,” led by Donald Fournier, senior research specialist at the University of Illinois; “Process,” led by Cindy Pollock Shea, sustainability coordinator for the University of North Carolina; or “Infrastructure/Operations,” led by Cacciola and the NWF’s Kristy Jones.
The day’s activities will conclude at 5:25 p.m. with a plenary session in Steinberg Auditorium, followed by a reception.
The Sustainable University Colloquium will begin at 9:30 a.m. March 30 in Steinberg Auditorium with case-study presentations by Mark Rylander, chair of the American Institute of Architects’ Committee on the Environment; Marc Rosenbaum, principal of Energysmith environmental design consultants; and John Gratiot, vice president for facilities, operation and management at Dartmouth College.
At 11 a.m., a second round of case studies will be presented by William Odell, vice president and sustainable design principal for HOK Architects in St. Louis; Keith McPeters, associate of the Olin Partnership in Philadelphia; and Victoria Sirianni, chief facilities officer for Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
William McDonough, principal of William McDonough Associates, will speak at 2:15 p.m. in Steinberg Auditorium on “Economy, Ecology, Equity and Education.” ( More information.) A discussion on “The Sustainable University” will follow.
Additional funding for The Sustainable University Campus was provided by the Sesquicentennial Commission, Student Union and Congress of the South 40.
The cost for the campus ecology workshops March 28 is $35 for the general public and free for WUSTL faculty, staff and students. Registration is required for that day’s events.
The Sustainable University Colloquium March 30 is free and open to the public; registration is not required.
For more information or to register, call 935-6293.