Antioch College Village

Sustainability and community are core values of Antioch College which has sought new and better ways of living and learning since 1850.

Antioch College Village is conceived as an environmentally sustainable, multi-generational, mixed-income community on the campus of Antioch College, near the vibrant downtown of the Village of Yellow Springs.

The project aspires to meet the requirements of the Living Community Challenge, the world’s most advanced measure of sustainability for communities.

The Pilot Project Prepares to Break Ground

A SUSTAINABLE POCKET NEIGHBORHOOD

Working with Buckminster Fuller Prize winner Jason F. McLennan—considered one of the most influential individuals in the green building movement today—and the McLennan Design team, Antioch College has created a unique sustainable pocket neighborhood as a pilot project and for the envisioned Antioch Village co-housing community. The project integrates into the Yellow Springs neighborhood while being connected to the larger college campus.

Comprised of eight tiny home units - four 2 Bedroom units and four attached units - this new community will feature compact homes built to high energy efficiency and sustainability standards, a vibrant village green shared by all of the residents, and ample space for community gardens.

The units themselves will exemplify the most state-of-the-art features of sustainable design, with energy efficient forms, rooftop arrays of PV panels,tight thermal enclosures, efficient equipment, and ample natural light. Options for green water and material solutions are also possible.

The site design has each of the homes looking out on a common greenspace which could be landscaped with food production, seating areas and gathering areas. Porches face the green space to promote community interaction and kitchens and large windows look onto this greenspace as well. To the rear of each unit, a cellar hatch will lead to the optional basement storage area, which doubles as a storm shelter and could also provide options for composting toilets if approved and desired.

Parking is grouped to the east side of the site and carport structures provide shelter from snow.

Wish to make an inquiry?

For more details contact us at: acv@antiochcollege.edu

The Vision for Antioch College Village

Antioch College Village is envisioned as a neighborhood that promotes community values, fosters equity and inclusivity, employs sustainability strategies, and is rooted in the principles of cohousing.

“We are excited that the aesthetic and environmental aspects of the Antioch College Village footprint will be leading edge,” says President Tom Manley. “Our work in higher education and in the wider community should be focused on developing new and better ways of living and learning, and the Antioch College Village project is integral to our efforts.”

Cohousing is a distinct pattern of development that originated in Denmark in the 1960s. It typically consists of small private homes clustered around shared green and living space. Each home has traditional amenities, including a private kitchen, while a common house provides access to amenities that are often duplicated in individual homes, like a workshop, game room and extra guestrooms. Cohousing households have independent incomes and private lives, but neighbors work collaboratively to plan and manage their community and life tasks such as child and elder care. Potential future development include a variety of residential units ranging from studios and apartments to three-bedroom townhomes as well as a mixed-use building to house academic programs and commercial space.

Project Architect Jason McLennan says “Our team is thrilled to help envision a new way of living and being at Antioch that is better for people, for community and for the environment for generations to come.”

Antioch College Village has been in the works since the College commissioned Sandy Wiggins—a sustainable-development consultant and former chair of the U.S. Green Building Council—to do a feasibility study in 2013. The Yellow Springs co-housing group, Antioch Village Pioneers, was deeply involved in the week-long ACV master plan charrette led by Dover, Kohl & Partners in March 2015, where hundreds of area stakeholders contributed feedback on the design of the ACV.

Sustainability at Antioch College

At Antioch College, we believe in using a 360 approach toward sustainability. Through sustainable policies, programs, and practices, Antioch College seeks to conducting our operations in an environmentally sound manner consistent with our vision of providing a place where new and better ways of living are discovered as a result of meaningful engagement with the world through intentional linkages between classroom and experiential education. Working with our students, faculty, staff, and community, we continue to move forward in our goal to reduce our carbon footprint through all aspects of our operations.

Just a few highlights of our commitment to sustainability include:

• Achievement of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification on major campus renovations. For example, North Hall (built in 1853) was renovated in 2012 as a state-of-the-art facility powered by a solar array and heated and cooled with geothermal energy. Today, North Hall is the second-oldest building in the U.S. to be awarded LEED Gold certification.
• A central geothermal plant and five-acre, one million watt solar Photo Voltaic (PV) solar farm, that powers most of the campus, make Antioch among the first colleges in the country to be heated and cooled primarily by geothermal and solar power.
• The College has joined with the Trust for Public Land and the Tecumseh Land Trust to permanently protect Glen Helen. This conservation easement ensures that future generations will have the opportunity to experience, learn from, and learn in this natural resource.
• Through the Antioch College Farm and Antioch Kitchens, the College is a model for ecologically sustainable, humane, and socially equitable food systems. Antioch College strives to deliver real food to students, faculty, and staff. Antioch College was ranked second in the nation among colleges and universities in real food consumption at 56%.