Plans for "Green Building" take root
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Geothermal heating systems. Recycled rainwater for irrigation. Environmentally responsible building materials.
Campus just got a shade more green.
The northwest corner of Fyffe Road and Lane Avenue along Fred Taylor Drive will be the site of Ohio State's first-ever "green" building, to be named the Nationwide and Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center. (Groundbreaking for the project is scheduled for this summer.) Not just any building can call itself "green"—a building must meet specifications set by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System, a voluntary national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings.
According to Jeff King, assistant director of OSU Extension and leader of the state's 4-H Youth Development program, the new facility will serve several purposes. "It's a home to our programs, first and foremost. But beyond that, it'll be a microcosm for showing students how buildings can be designed and then operate efficiently with an eye on sustainability."
Thousands of high school students come to campus annually as part of 4-H programs, and according to King, the building will act as an ambassador of sorts for the university. "When students come here, see the cool things we have going on like this building, it makes Ohio State that much more attractive."
The building should be ready for occupancy by late summer 2007.
Related links:
View more renderings of campus' first "green" building
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