The M.U.M. Sustainable Living Center is open! Students are taking most of their classes in the building and are helping to develop its systems. It’s a building that teaches, and the first lesson is that it is possible to create a sustainable future and fulfil one’s dream.

Here’s a 2.5 minute TV news item. Already at LEED Gold level and net zero energy, when fully finished our aim is for it to be the first of its kind -  completely off the grid, surpassing LEED platinum, the highest LEED standard, and complying with the Cascadia Living Building Challenge. These are two of the most rigorous certifications for ecologically friendly buildings.

Additionally the building will comply with Bau (or building) Biology, a German system that focuses on creating buildings that are healthy for the occupants. The M.U.M. Sustainable Living Center will be a classroom, workshop, and office building to serve the rapidly expanding Sustainable Living degree program at Maharishi University of Management. The vision for this center is that it will be a building that teaches, a building that utilizes the most practical green building techniques and show cases them through informative displays to students and visitors.

This building goes beyond the usual concept of a green building which is measured primarily in terms of its carbon foot print. The SLC is actually beyond carbon neutral, creating more energy than it uses, but the building also offers much more. A unique feature of the SLC is that it is built in accordance with Vastu. MVA is an ancient system of architecture which uses orientation, precise proportions, and specific placement of rooms. The entrance of the building is to the East to take advantage of the enlivening rays of the early morning sun. Precise proportions are used to connect the built environment with the natural environment. Specific room placement harnesses the different qualities of sun light at different times of the day, to support different types of activity. This all creates a building which is in tune with nature.

Principles from Maharishi Vedic Architecture, Building Biology, and guidelines from LEED and the Cascadia Living Building Challenge all come together to make this building functional, efficient, sustainable, pure, healthy, harmonious, and uplifting for everyone. For tours of the building email sustainableliving@mum.edu