Numerous Oberlin students were instrumental in the Lewis Center's planning and design phases in the mid-1990s, guided by the vision of David Orr, an internationally noted environmental educator and campus ecology advocate. In addition to its biological wastewater treatment system, the 13,600 square-foot facility meets advanced criteria for energy and materials efficiency, use of recycled materials, solar energy and ecological landscaping. The bottom line is that resources are saved for future generations in a way that teaches the generations of today. The main part of the Living Machine is located in a solarium adjacent to an atrium and a 100-seat auditorium featuring wood from certified sustainable forests. Wastewater is cleaned through a series of environments populated by different biological communities that help reduce levels of organic substances along with nitrogen and phosphorus in the effluent.
Wastewater flows from the building into two underground reactors located just outside.
In these reactors an anaerobic biological process begins digestion of the wastes. After flowing through the closed anaerobic and aerobic reactors, wastewater enters the Living Machine solarium and flows through three open aerobic reactors. Tropical, sub-tropical and native plants such as papyrus, calla lilies and willows root into the planted aerobic reactors and assist in the treatment process. Following the open aerobic reactors, biosolids are settled out of the wastewater in a clarifier. Ultraviolet disinfection is the final step prior to the treated wastewater being reused in the buildings' toilets.