The University Christian Ministries plans to make its new home a little greener.
University Christian Ministries has been housed in the Interfaith Center since the mid-1900s, but now the group is ready to construct a state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly building called the Gaia House.
The Gaia House is designed to achieve a LEED Platinum ranking - meaning it would meet the requirements to achieve the highest ranking in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.
Yolan Presley, a member on the ministries' board of directors and a leader on the project, said creating a sustainable building is part of promoting the group's mission to foster spiritual development and peace.
"We want this new building to be a full experience," Presley said. "We want to do something that hasn't been done and give students a place to live a sustainable lifestyle."
The current facility offers a lounge and library on the first level with a kitchen and meeting room in the basement, but the new building is designed to be large enough to house a few students and professors.
If everything goes according to plan, the ministry's residence halls would be the first on campus to achieve such a high level of sustainability, Presley said. The initial design includes solar energy, super insulation, green roofs, natural ventilation and solar tubes.
The building is projected for construction where the current facility is located at the corner of Grand and Illinois avenues.
Presley estimated the new facility would cost more than $8 million. She said it's not going "green" that costs so much, but constructing the most up-to-date building.
"We were cautious about the idea, but we thought if we were going to go through with it, we might as well do it as good as possible," Presley said. "It's going to cost a lot but we are doing all the funding ourselves. It won't cost the university a penny."
The board of directors wants the groundbreaking to occur within the next three years or the project could be canceled because of lack of funding. Presley said the ministries still has a lot of doors to knock on for donations, but is confident the construction will happen.
Though the project's funding won't come from university coffers, Presley said the group has been in constant communication with administrators. Their support is important because the Interfaith Center is on year 45 of a 99-year lease from the university.
The board of directors has also involved students from the architecture and engineering programs. Architecture students plan to collaborate with the professionals of HOK to design and construct the Gaia House.
Associate professor Robert Swenson said he has four students working closely on the project and said it should be a challenge for the students to work with such modern technology.
"So much of this technology has yet to be used thoroughly, so it's a great chance to learn hands-on," Swenson said. "We wouldn't be working on this if we didn't think this would work. I think this can be a very special project."
Bill Harper, assistant director of the Interfaith Center, said he thinks a new building could help continue to progress the unity of faiths.
"Our main goal is to bring people together and show that we are more alike than we think," Harper said. "Just continue our mission statement. Spiritual development, peace, justice and ecological sustainability."
Presley said the Gaia House would unite people of all faiths while proving the potential of a sustainable lifestyle. Though its design is far from finalized, the house has already given students and community members a reason to work together.
"This is a way for people to stay engaged in SIU and be in a supportive community," Presley said. "So many people have already helped and I think Carbondale and the university and all of us could really benefit from it."
Jeff Engelhardt can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 255 or jengel@siu.edu
