Happy New Year! This is the first episode for 2010 and we are off to a great start. Special guest Elise Drakes, B’Arch ’06 Associate AIA, talkes about healthcare Architecture and the ACE Mentor Program. We discuss the rise of green buildings and the IDP program.
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I was recently sent this cartoon via email. Unfortunately I have been unable to determine the source.
Besides being funny, I thought the cartoon underscores the point that often our “green” and “sustainable” activities are merely moving the problem to someone else, not necessarily helping the planet our the community as a whole. For example, driving an electric cars may reduce dependence on fossil fuels locally, but usually it just results on shifting the demand to coal power plants.
Just a little food for thought.
Opened to the public on May 23, 2004, the Seattle Central Library by Rem Koolhaas quickly became a tourist attraction in Seattle, Washington.
The 362,987 square foot building features an underground public parking lot, hundreds of computers, an auditorium, and “the book spiral” that allows visitors to traverse the entire book collection all on one continuous “floor” that spirals over 5 stories. I found the entire structure to be amazing in both form and function. Practical details like having floor air registers and waterless urinals are complimented by having text embossed flooring, and vertical circulation identified with a consistent bright yellow.
During my visits on June 27th and 28th I overheard an elderly woman comment that being in the building was giving her an anxiety attack. I would agree that the building as a whole can seem a bit overwhelming, it is very different from the traditional library. However, I found the building to be exciting and invigorating. The building draws you to explore it and discover. I think libraries as a whole can be very compartmentalized, but the spaces in Seattle Central Library were very connected not just horizontally but vertically as well. I was also surprised by the numerous intimate areas that were created on balconies, and in glazed niches. There were many places that I could see myself sitting for hours just reading.
Overall I found the building very impressive.
(Photo essay after the break)
A number of my colleges are cramming for the LEED exam. Now that LEED v3.0 is here I’m sure there are a number of people trying to sneak in under the old LEED v2.0 test. I thought I’d post a few of my favorite LEED study resources on the net. Even if you aren’t studying for the LEED test these sites are a good explanation and summary of the rating system.
There are a lot of paid resources on the net as well:
Good luck!
Lloyd Alter, of TreeHugger, posted a great slide show today titled Green Roofs are Changing Architecture and Planning. In 15 slides he gives a great overview of green roofs yesterday and today.
His thesis is summarized on the last slide with the words:
Perhaps to everyone’s surprise, [green roofs] have turned into planning tools to help put buildings where no building has gone before, are radically changing the architectural form of buildings, the way architects present buildings and the respective roles of architects and landscape architects.
He then gives this dire warning:
Let’s just be vigilant to ensure that [green roofs] are not misused and brought into disrepute by using them as excuses to put buildings in places they shouldn’t be, just because they are green.
I don’t see the problem. When can a green roof be misused? Maybe if you populate it with killer bees, but in the words of Mr. Molina, “Green is good.”