A Conversation Ignited by a Presentation on a Living Building Challenge Project - Part 1

Our collaborative, and a few other friends, meets monthly to discuss a burning question re: the work we all do...............and drink beer (and have dinner), which we call beer talks.  The conversation is always lively and far-reaching, given the diverse group, including architects, builders, landscape architects, renewable energy consultants, gardeners, developers,  DC DOE Green Building program manager, etc.

At this past beer talk, a presentation was made, giving the background story for the Alice Ferguson Foundation's Potomac Watershed Study Center, where they are taking on the Living Building Challenge.  The presentation laid out the underlying consciousness of the project, and, opened a door into considering how we, as professionals, hold such an awareness.  Pls view the project here -

          http://fergusonfoundation.org/living-building-on-the-potomac/

What follows is my first post-beer talk reflection.  I will soon post subsequent responses.......... only one per post, to keep each posting brief.

hi friends..............a Paul Hawken quote, to get this rolling -

we will have the ability in a very short time to create buildings that are literally as complex as a plant or a flower, that are biophilic in the true sense of the word.

when i was at the Living Building Challenge conference a few years ago, i was already stunned at just how complex the LBC projects were (including residential)............. and, perhaps, we're moving towards more complexity, as Paul states?

i think i took to heart one of my dad's great ironies.............he was a fighter pilot, yet, he always advocated seeking the fewest working parts (re: lifespan, maintenance, operation).  b2 suggests i'm a luddite, which, given what i've been called over the years, isn't so bad...........

i dunno............ is complexity our destiny?  will we all have brains like Keith's?!

we can't create simple homes, organic,  flowing from and with the life-force of place, establishing resonant relationships, heated with a wood stove (wood from the land), cooled by meadow breezes (w/ a bit of discomfort, which keeps us human) cha cha?

i realize cities and large programs dictate something else - a fine place for LBC - but, as i'm a lowly residential architect, do we want to move towards complex (aka, expensive - i forgot to say the other night, extra cost is the primary reason my clients won't do LBC) homes?  or simplicity?   or.........?????   

i realize this is a big can of worms, and, seeking brevity, can't explore nuance........... i tried to say enough to open the floor for your responses!

~  b