BEMIDJI, Minn. — With its green roof, low-energy appliances and huge south-facing windows and shutters, Das BioHaus at Concordia Language Villages is an example of the building of the future.

The public is invited to tour this building at 10 a.m. Tuesday, October 16 along with the Academy of Lifelong Learning, coordinated by Bemidji State University Northwest Technical College Center for Research and Innovation Custom College (CRICC).

Warren Schulze, assistant director of facilities for the language villages, will discuss how the building’s design saves the language villages 85 percent on its energy costs. Das BioHaus, located in the German Language Village of Waldsee, is the only house in the United States to be certified by the German Passive Hause Institute. This year, it won the Minnesota Environmental Initiative award for protecting air quality and climate.

“It is built to European standards of construction which use many innovative techniques not commonly found in the United States,” said Pat Rall, an ALL member and tour organizer. “It is a very popular site to visit for people who are designing new structures or renovating because it uses the most advanced methods in construction.”

A $15 lunch is available at the German Village following the tour. Lunch reservations are available by contacting Rall at 755-8942 or prall@charter.net by October 8.

Free and open to the public, the 90-minute presentation is part of an ongoing fall lecture series sponsored by the Academy of Lifelong Learning (ALL) and coordinated by the CRI at 3801 Bemidji Avenue.

ALL offers humanities-based programs that are made possible in part with private donations and BSU support.

More information about the Academy of Lifelong Learning is available by contacting the Center for Research and Innovation at (218) 755-4900.

FOR YOUR CALENDAR
Oct. 16 – 10 a.m. – Bemidji State University Northwest Technical College Center for Research and Innovation Custom College sponsors a tour of Das Biohaus at Concordia Language Villages. Tour is free and open to the public. Lunch available for $15; to reserve a lunch, call Pat Rall at (218) 755-8942 by Oct. 8.

About the Center for Research and Innovation Custom College
The CRICC is an off-campus facility operated by Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College designed to increase collaboration between the University, the College, business and industry and other sectors of the region. The newly aligned outreach resources of Bemidji State and Northwest Tech offer greater variety and easier access to customized training and business services in addition to providing a one-stop-shop, linking external organizations to the region’s higher education knowledge base.
For further information about the CRICC, visit its web site at http://www.cri-cc.org.