April 26, 2010

Letter to the Editor: 'Green' design is nothing new

(Regarding the April 15 post on the DJC Green Building blog “Frank Gehry apparently not the biggest fan of LEED”)

I guess I'm one of those cranky old architects… but then again, I also dislike Gehry's work.

I have an inherent disdain to try to put good design into a box. I dislike the terms “green,” “sustainable” and the like. Of course, when I was younger, we used terms like “ecological,” “passive energy strategies,” etc. so in some respects, it may be the semantics of the time. We like what we're used to.

My point is that good design cuts across time and does not dwell on current fads. Green advocates give the impression that architects have not been concerned with these issues in the past. Not true. We have worked within and well beyond the design strictures of the past, usually with great concern towards the environment. But not always… just like now. The Green Movement has generally re-packaged many of the same issues we been dealing with for years. But I'll give them credit for getting more clients to make the leap.

Architects can't design and build great projects by themselves. It always takes a great client, a great design team and usually a great contractor, too. Great projects require great commitment and more dollars than lesser projects. Available monies will always be a big factor. It will always limit how far we can go.

In the meantime, we need to spend less time talking and marketing, and more time doing what we've been trained to do… and not abrogating our responsibilities to ourselves, our clients, our communities and the world.

K. John Jones

Dykeman

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Previous columns:

• Letter to the Editor: Cost often overlooked as a benefit of sustainability, 03-01-2010
• Letter to the Editor -- Design review has a cost, 02-02-2010
• Letter to the Editor: Pioneer Square article misses the mark, 12-21-2009
• Opinion: Macy's garage: Making a silk purse into a sow's ear, 11-25-2009
• Letter to the Editor: ‘Misleading impression' about Ashworth Cottages, 11-04-2009
• Letter to the Editor: Water rights issues deserve more research and attention, 07-06-2009
• Letter to the Editor: Map of outfalls is first step in cleanup of Puget Sound, 05-04-2009
• Letter to the Editor: Put the focus on making existing buildings green, 05-04-2009