Rieth Village shooting to become the greenest (man-made) place
Rieth Village is where green car drivers would like to live. But, since it’s just a collection of three
buildings that will be used as classrooms and experimental green lifestyle at this point, we’ll have to wait. The
village is part of the Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center of Goshen College. Students from the college will live in
the village while taking classes in ornithology or ecology. The South
Bend Tribune had a feature article on the village this week.The goal is for the buildings to be awarded the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design’s “platinum” rating, the highest possible.
The buildings are eco-consciously designed; from the way they’re oriented to the type of materials used to build them. The roads are packed gravel instead of concrete, which is permeable and causes less erosion than asphalt. There are also a wind turbine and solar panels to generate power. I’m impressed by the rainwater catch pools and how that water will be used for things that don’t need potable water (like flushing toilets). Rieth Village is a planned community and a learning center, but it’s the type of environmentally conscious “town” that can really be a model for the future.
[Source: South Bend Tribune]
Add your comments