Jumpin' on the Greenwagon

Everything is going Green. From the new Green Network on cable to a book I saw at the store last week about "eating green". Every where you look its all about the green. Green plumbers, green pest control, green, green, green. I've been told by the Crew to be very careful about this subject. They know my disdain for fakery and nonsense in the business world. So bear with me as I try to navigate some tricky waters here.

I think the underlying movement of a greener humanity is remarkable at its very roots. We started on this planet as a part of nature like every other plant and animal inhabitant and have managed to move beyond that through our technological genius. The industrial age of technological genius, however, is leaving the planet in ruins. What we are doing cannot be sustained. So instead of returning to the old ways, which is never going to happen, nor should it, we are merging the two worlds of nature and technology to create a better place for all creatures. That part I really like.

What I don't like is the Greenwagon. Everyone that cares more about how they look to the rest of the world is jumping on in amazing and stupid numbers these days. I mean, do we really need green yoga? In my opinion yoga is already about as green as it gets, so a phrase like that is redundant and self serving. There are examples like this everywhere you look and our profession is no exception. I want to expose a really big one and this is where the tricky waters part comes in.

Lets get right to the heart of the matter, right to the very center of the Greenwagon with a thing called LEED. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. It is a green building rating system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), a non-profit organization, and it provides a suite of standards for environmentally sustainable construction. Individuals recognized for their knowledge of the LEED rating system are permitted to use the LEED Accredited Professional (AP) after their name, indicating they have passed the accreditation exam given by the Green Building Certification Institute, a third-party organization that handles accreditation for the USGBC.

What that really means is that you can put LEED AP after your name if you have passed a test that shows that you understand how to rate products and buildings, not a test that shows that you are proficient in green design. Big difference! I am a registered architect and passing that exam was all about my knowledge of architecture and not about my knowledge of how to rate architecture. This is where I have a problem with the Greenwagon.

A couple of years ago I toured a building in downtown Boise, Idaho that was the first LEED certified commercial building in that city. It was an old warehouse that had been turned in to offices and it was brilliantly transformed. I was curious as to what exactly qualified it as LEED certified and was astonished at what I discovered. One of the qualifying criteria they got points for was planting trees. I'm pretty sure that the least environmentally conscious architect on the planet would have gotten points for that because the City of Boise would have required by ordinance for those trees to be planted, regardless.


Front 5 Building, Boise, Idaho -Modus Architecture


There are many similar aspects to a LEED certified building. For example, you get credit for using certain materials even if it is the only cost effective building material in the region and nothing else is available. In other words, everybody gets those points. I don't fault the attempt to rate buildings so much as I don't like some professionals using it to make them look superior to their competition; using LEED as a Greenwagon marketing tool.

The other big issue is one that, interestingly enough, is a direct result of our economic downturn. There are an untold number of architecture and interior design graduates that are unable to find a job. To keep themselves relevant in the profession they are taking courses and becoming LEED certified, allowing them to put the LEED AP designation behind their name. We get several resumes a week like this. Now, mind you, these are kids who have never worked a day in an architectural firm, never had a meeting with a client, never dealt with municipalities or general contractors. Probably never even been to a jobsite! But they are LEED accredited experts! I was a newly graduated architecture student at one time and when I look back, boy was I dumb. It takes years of experience to become an expert at anything in this profession and still every project brings on new, never-before-seen, challenges. I'm sure that in time, these students will also realize this once the market picks back up and they actually get a chance to work.

Where am I going with all of this? Well, I guess I'm trying to say "buyer beware". Any good architect, LEED AP or not, will use the skills he or she has learned over the years to make a building work to the best of the client's needs. Just having the initials after the name doesn't necessarily do the trick.

In this month's issue of Architect (www.architectmagazine.com) the cover story is about a clever little storage barn in Washington, Connecticut. This building is about as green as you can possible imagine, with solar panels for electricity and a ground source geothermal system for heating and cooling, just to name a few of its features. But not once does the article or the architect elude to LEED certification. It simply goes without saying. The Greenwagon need not come by because they don't need to get on!

Storage Barn -Gray Organschi Architecture

Curtis Architecture started our green practices in 1994 and actually had a "Green Architecture" division that was quite passionate in digging up what few ideas existed at the time. It was a struggle back then and things have come so very far in 15 years. We dropped the division in 1997, not because we gave up, but because we decided that everything we did naturally was green in its intent. We didn't need a special classification within the organization to prove that. We also decided that much of the green that was going to happen needed to be with product manufacturers. We thought the market was turning in the right direction and sure enough it was. LEED was established in 1998 and it's been off to the races ever since.


So, I hope I've made it through the rapids unscathed. I don't hate LEEDS or being green. Like Kermit the Frog used to say, "it isn't easy being green", but it is the right thing. And it will be a better place faster if we all stay green in the right context.