Matthew Anthony, Project Manager for Southface LEED for Homes, shows students sustainability measures implemented at Gables Brookhaven.

Dr. Jeffrey Collins and Dr. Humayun Kabir recently held their freshman honors sustainability class in a different kind of classroom—the construction site for Gables Brookhaven, a new on-campus apartment community opening in fall 2015.

The course immerses students, from all majors, in the field of sustainable living—in buildings, in future homes they will build, and on our campus—to learn how to move beyond the mistakes humans made in the 20th century in the built environment. Class discussions include the science of climate change and the impact humans have on climate change.

While onsite at Gables Brookhaven, students were given an introduction to 21st century built environment by Matthew Anthony, a Project Manager with Atlanta-based Southface, which promotes sustainable homes, workplaces and communities through education, research, advocacy and technical assistance.

Being on the construction site allowed the class to see how the “guts” of a building work and to learn more about sustainable materials—what they are, what that really means. Students were able to observe sustainability measures in action and how they are applied in a real-world environment—an invaluable lesson, according to Dr. Collins.

“The idea was to get students out of the classroom—sitting there and just theorizing about sustainability or just reading scholarly articles—and get them into a real environment where green architecture, sustainable, engineered materials and environmental leadership were practiced on a daily ‘workingman’ basis,” he said.

Later in the semester, the class will visit more Atlanta locations involved with eco-design, recycling, and building green.