APRIL 2005 - Scott Stolarczyk, AIA

We all recognize the importance of the quality and health of our environment and its connection to our own quality of life. At the same time, I hope we all recognize the significant impact our buildings have upon both the environment and ourselves. I consider myself fairly green in mind, but it is still challenging to balance best practices for green building and sustainability with the myriad other issues that we think about during the design and construction of a project. There is a wealth of information coming out all the time regarding sustainability and the impacts of our decisions. Not all of it is accurate or useful. We need to use our critical judgement to sort through the chaff and be sure that we do not get bogged down in pessimism about where we are heading. For me the latter is difficult.

Luckily I have found ways to reinspire myself and shake away the pessimism. One event that does this is the annual H.O.P.E.S. conference at the University of Oregon. H.O.P.E.S. (Holistic Options for Planet Earth Sustainability) is in its 11th year and is a student run event that focuses on green building and sustainable living. This weekend long event is full of guest speakers and discussion panels that leave you excited about the possibilities we have as design professionals. If you are looking for a way to rededicate yourself to the idea of sustainability, this is a wonderful event to attend. (Disclosure: I am part of the Advisory Council to the student group that organizes H.O.P.E.S. Don’t let that stop you.)

We also have many resources available to us for assisting in making informed decisions on green building. One such resources is the BetterBricks program. AIA/SWO is working with BetterBricks to host a series of educational seminars on issues of energy efficiency and high performance building. These are good as an introduction to the issues as well as a refresher course to what you already know. BetterBricks also has a collection of case studies you can use to help generate your own ideas and help demonstrate to a client the possibilities. In addition, AIA/SWO has an on again/off again Committee on the Environment (COTE). If you want to take part in this group, or have an idea of an event or discussion topic on green building you think should happen, please contact me.

Aside from being designers of the built environment, we should recognize our own personal impacts to the environment. One way to gauge this is to determine your ecological footprint. The ecological footprint is a measurement of the resources used for the we live. Listed below are a few links to ways to determine this. But don’t let it get you down. Let it be a reminder of challenges before us and as an instigator of change in your life.

Scott Stolarczyk, AIA

Ecological Footprint Quiz:
http://www.earthday.net/footprint/index.asp

Ecological Footprint Calculator:
http://www.bestfootforward.com/footprintlife.htm

Footprint Estimation Form:
http://www.sbs.utexas.edu/resource/EcoFtPrnt/Calculate.htm