One Wall at a Time

Musical Expression

As I delved into my thoughts to find out what my true passions were, I only found vague shadows of feelings that I couldn’t define. I love to compose music, I enjoy writing poetry, and art is an expression that I am so fond of that I am in the process of making it my career. The closest thing to a passion that I could define was the fact that I love to create; more than anything, the emotional release of artistic expression is something that I know I cannot live without. However, when I tried to find how these passions connected me to the world around me, the result was often contrived. Finally, I decided to take a simpler approach. I asked myself, “When was the last time that I was excited?” “Excited” at first seemed to be an overly simplistic criteria, but I arrived to an end much quicker than I thought I would.

I remembered my senior road trip and college acceptance letters, graduation and my first date, and a plethora of other random events that made high school bearable. Then, after a while of soothing nostalgia, I remembered an event that had a very significant impact on me. This “event” was a lecture by Antoine Predock, an architect from New Mexico. He was being awarded the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Gold Medal Award, and was giving a presentation after the ceremony. During the presentation he talked about current projects, how he became interested in architecture, and various other background information. Finally, he started his slide show and went into detail about various projects. He talked about the collaboration with his fellow architects, satisfying the parameters set up by the client, and figuring out how to make an artistic statement throughout the entire process. The result, as portrayed by the slides, had a compelling effect on me. For the first time, I was moved by the structure of buildings. The spaces within, the materials, the orientation; everything had a purpose and specific intent. Buildings were actually exciting.

Austin City Hall by Antoine Predock

Although I was positive that this was going to be the topic of my paper, I continued to browse the cranial archives. This time I made my focus a little more academic, and thought of papers, research, and teachers that had made a lasting impression on me. After a bit, I recalled a particular subject that I always found myself arguing about during high school: global warming. As of today, my opinion is that global warming is a pressing issue with a complex solution. But this was not always the case; for the majority of my life I was convinced that the shrieking environmentalists talking of imminent death were out of line and completely irrational. During my sophomore year, I saw “An Inconvenient Truth” for the first time. I was blown away, and was ashamed of my wasteful ways. At the dinner table, I brought up various facts and tidbits that I had seen in the film, but was surprised by my Dad’s reactions. For every depressing fact I had, he seemed to have a retort that was supported by scientific fact. Frustrated and confused, I decided to do some research on my own. I found out some very surprising things. Scientists were in the process of suing Al Gore, and were lead by John Coleman, the founder of the weather channel. I soon learned the topic was not as black and white as Al Gore had made it seem, and that climate trends have been far more volatile in the past than they are now. So who was right?

The global warming issue was then and is still an issue that I have mixed feelings about. However, it made me aware of a mindset that I believe makes sense. I concluded that global warming trends, if natural, would be nearly impossible to stop through by our doing. However, if the weather changes were the result of our CO2 emissions, then it would indeed be possible for us to correct them. Here is the part that determined my stance: we have no way of knowing what is causing the global warming, we only know the suspects. I decided that it is our duty as a society to make the effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. If it turns out that we were wrong about their significance, then the only result would be an atmosphere with less CO2. On the other hand, if the alarmists were correct in their predictions, then we will have preserved our fragile ecosystem from further damage.

You may have seen this coming, but it turns out that my seemingly unrelated “passions” actually fit together quite well, and are even the basis of a building craze today. Green architecture is becoming a more dominant force today than it ever has been before. For the first time, “skins” are surrounding buildings in order to reflect light and contain heat, walls are getting thicker and contain more insulation, grass roofs or “green” roofs are becoming mandatory in cities such as Chicago…the list goes on and on. Universities are offering classes on green building, and students are eager to sign up for them. And, perhaps this is the most important part, consumers are more willing to pay for them. The reason isn’t as noble as it sounds. Green buildings, by nature, maximize efficiency and cut down on heating and cooling costs. They also have a smaller impact on the environment around them. These buildings cost significantly less money and resources to operate, and for this reason are attractive to consumers living in a world where energy prices are constantly rising. So why aren’t there more green buildings? Why do the majority of people see them as an extra cost instead of an investment? Why aren’t more cities willing to see them as a benefit and not a political liability?

In Paul Roberts’ book, the End of Oil, he brings up an interesting phenomenon. American consumers, when purchasing a car, don’t see the fuel efficiency as a significant cost. If someone drives their SUV 15,000 miles a year, then the costs for fuel can be well over $3,000 per year. Depending on how long we own the car, the cost of fuel can equal more than half of the total initial cost of the vehicle. So why isn’t this one of the most important factors of buying a car?

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The same ideology occurs when people build houses or offices; the upfront costs are more important than the maintenance costs. With a minimal amount of public education, green buildings won’t be seen as a “yuppie” fad but as a worthwhile investment. Even with this new motivation for purchasing green buildings, the original intent will be preserved. Maintenance costs, typically water, heating, and cooling, typically translate directly into electricity costs. Electricity is one of the biggest carbon producers due to its origins: coal fired and gas fired plants. So, if consumers start making efforts to save money by cutting costs, they are indirectly—but very effectively—reducing carbon emissions. Roberts’ illustrates this point again when he states that one of the more effective ways to reduce carbon emissions is through efficiency. He maintains that if the U.S. would have kept its strict fuel efficiency standards that were made during the Gulf War, oil prices wouldn’t be nearly as volatile or have as big as an impact on our economy as they do now. Again, there is a parallel to green architecture. If we make the efforts during a building’s design and construction to save costs, then energy demands will go down or at least remain stable as the years go on. The effort just needs to be made.

As a young adult and future architect, the field of environmentally conscious architecture is exciting. It provides an interesting and engaging challenge for me as a designer, and unifies beauty with efficiency. It also inspires innovation; green buildings aren’t just about florescent bulbs and double paned windows. The “De Young Museum”, designed by the renowned architects Herzog and Meyer, is covered with a perforated copper skin that reflects light in order to help keep the interior cooler. The School of Art, Design & Media at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore has a sloping, all grass roof that has insulating qualities as well as a beautiful look. For me, this is more than a fad or a romantic ideal; green building is a necessity and the smartest move that both designers and buyers can make. I still have much to learn about techniques, technologies, and the environment in general, but it is a driving force behind my perception of architecture. In fact it is almost a driving force behind my survival—not really. But it might help keep the summers a bit more bearable.

School of Art, Design, and Media De Young Museum