Greenhouse description .

Joliet Junior College
Greenhouse Facility
Registered for LEED-NC certification
The Greenhouse Facility brings the Joliet
Junior College Horticultural Sciences
department new ways of growing,
conserving, and teaching.
Three passively and mechanically
ventilated greenhouses provide flexible,
sustainable growing environments. An
educational building connects to the
greenhouses. It houses a multipurpose
classroom, a head house for
greenhouse support, coolers, pesticide
storage, and shared office space.
A passive ventilation system automatically opens roofs to moderate house temperatures.
The formal garden features nine gardens connected by a recycled paver pathway.
Tables and chairs can be rolled out of
the multi-use classroom. A custom 8’ x 8’
garage door enables small machinery to
enter the space for mechanics courses.
Other water-conserving features include:
• Drip irrigation
• “Ebb and flow” benches
• Hydroponics (growing without soil)
• “Pulse” watering for hanging plants
• On-site sanitary treatment system
that will support outdoor native
vegetation
The facility is computer-controlled. A
Priva system and a building automation
system moderate the environment and
water resources in each house. The
mechanically-ventilated roof opens and
closes based on temperature needs.
Other greenhouse technologies include:
• Outdoor temperature satellite
• Reflective roof surface
• CO2 generator
• Horizontal air flow fans
• Thermal curtains to retain heat
• Blackout curtain for extended night
• High intensity discharge lights for
extended day
Among the facility’s water-conserving features
are “ebb and flow” benches, which continuously
recycle water used on plants.
This facility is the first community college
(and second of any US college or university)
greenhouse to register for LEED-NC
certification.
Joliet, Illinois
Water resource responsibility drove the
sustainable design. There are three
water sources:
• primary: rainwater stored in underground tanks
• secondary: well water
• tertiary: city water
Each year, the department reinvests
$110,000 from community sales into
new plant materials and program
enrichment.
Joliet Junior College
Underground rainwater and well water storage tanks behind
the facility. The system retains 13,600 gallons of captured or
non-potable water for greenhouse irrigation.
Cornfields used by the agricultural sciences department buffer
the greenhouse from the rest of the campus.