Success in Failure

As Nov. 10 approached, marking 12 months since the Class of 1966 Environmental Center offcially began its pursuit of Living Building Challenge status, it was clear the
building wasn’t going to meet one of the seven rigorous requirements necessary for full certification—that of using only the energy it produces and collects on-site. Ultimately, that’s not such a bad thing, says Ralph Bradburd, chair of the Center for Environmental Studies and the David A. Wells Professor of Political Economy. “The purpose of the building is to live in it and learn from it,” he says.
With heavy use of the center’s classrooms, kitchen, library, and meeting spaces expected from the outset, Williams approached the challenge of net-zero energy as a learning opportunity. Psychology students studied ways to motivate behavior and influence how people use the building, and computer science students built systems to track energy use.

While the center continues working on achieving net-zero energy, the learning continues, says Mike Evans, assistant director of the Zilkha Center for Environmental Initiatives. “We don’t expect it to be easy,” he says. “It’s not just about this building but about the lessons we can pass on.”