Antioch College Sustainability Tour

The Wellness Center was renovated to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards. Some features include: geothermal building heating and cooling, LED lighting, sustainable materials, and a UV pool filtration system. The solar cell-phone charging station is free and available for all to use.

With its color-coded pipes and ‘circulation system’ visible through the windows, this building houses the geothermal, renewable energy system that helps heat and cool buildings on this side of campus. This system reduces our reliance on fossil fuel energy. 

Antioch’s campus hosts some very large-diameter trees like the grove of Bur Oaks behind the Arts and Sciences building. Leaves from campus trees are used in Farm compost, and the large Bur Oak acorns are food for people and animals. Our campus forests provide many ecosystem benefits like: shade, sequestering carbon, and providing habitat.

Our Antioch Farm provides fresh, local food for our campus dining program. Antioch’s Farm has seasonal gardens, hoop houses, perennial crops, native plants and a food forest. Students and community members can take classes and volunteer to work on the Farm. Many aspects of the farm and food production are incorporated into academic courses and workshops.  

This building houses and integrates Arts and Sciences classes, labs and studios at Antioch. The Art and Science building is LEED-Silver certified; it was built in 1930 and renovated 2014 with many green features like: geothermal powered heating and cooling, sustainable materials, and more.

On some areas of campus, mowing is kept to a minimum intentionally. Our low-mow areas encourage pollinators and other wildlife. Mowing less also builds organic matter in the soil and reduces our carbon footprint. Areas of the campus are planted in native plants to encourage biodiversity. 

In 2011, the campus landscape master plan was designed to allow native forests to regrow on parts of campus that had been mowed as turfgrass previously. In addition to eliminating fossil fuel maintenance, sequestering carbon, and increasing biodiversity, these areas and much of the campus landscapes are used for education and recreation. 

Next to Penell House, the student-run Apothecary Garden features native plants, including some that have medicinal value. In 1948, the much-loved Birch Hall dorm was designed by Eero Saarinen, the world-famous architect who designed the St. Louis arch.

When renovation was completed in 2011, North Hall was the second oldest dorm in the country to earn LEED-Gold certification. This building is a showcase for renewable energy: it has its own geothermal field and rooftop solar panels. Energy use can be monitored on each floor of the dorm, and the building was renovated with green building materials. 

Constructed in 1853 and renovated in 2010, South Hall is one of the trio of original campus buildings that are on the National Register of Historic Places. Antioch College Admissions and the Herndon Gallery are located on the entry level of this building. One of our academic focus areas is Sustainability and Environment. Learn more about our academic programs and community creativity in South Hall.