At a green building conference recently, the moderator of abreakout session asked what steps we can take to "build greener." Someone responded, "Install solar panels." Someone else suggested we "super-insulate." Another replied "build with local materials."
Appreciating those as important considerations, and with some trepidation, I raised my hand and said, "Don't build."
Granted, it seems odd for an architect who makes his living from building to recommend not building. But I went on to say that perhaps 80 percent of the projects we've done over the last 20 years didn't "need" to happen. I told the gathering that when I meet with clients who want to build an addition on their home these days, I often end up talking them out of building an addition at all.
Instead, I encourage them to reconsider how they LIVE in the space they already have.
The first act of building green is to live greener -- sustainably and with an ecological awareness. To consider how we most innately live, think back to the way we lived as young children -- everything appeared to us to be alive, asking to be engaged with, whether it had a heart or was found under a rock (or both!). The central act of living, that children naturally understand, is to deeply value all things and to seek to be a part of their wondrous, mysterious ways of being. This is "living" as an integral part of our local ecosystem. And it is at the heart of living green.
Another central aspect of living green is to recognize life is a paradox and that there are always issues from both sides -- the yin and yang of life -- that need consideration. Balance is essential and we all make choices. This leads to a harsh reality - there is no absolute "green" building, only shades of green.
We cannot build one hundred percent green for a variety of reasons, which hinge on this - there are many aspects of green that need to be considered. Most simply, there is responsible material sourcing; using as little energy as possible, or even generating energy; building a healthy, non-toxic home that respects all hands involved in the building, including those at far away factories and fields. These criteria are augmented by the mantras of "build small" and "build locally," both material sourcing and labor. It takes great diligence and careful analysis to meet all these criteria with every one of the hundreds of choices.
The creative process of making an ecologically responsive home also explores other considerations. When added to the list above, we realize that green building goes light years beyond conventional construction. Here are a few more facets of green building:
* To begin, if you must build, do not build on untouched land. Consider renovations first, additions second, and then infill lots.
* Use available renewable energy sources whenever possible -- solar, wind, biofuel.
* Build highly insulated and sealed homes, which keep out unwanted temperatures.
* Create regenerative landscaping, which implements storm water management strategies as beautiful landscaping.
* And, and this is essential, build well, so our homes will endure for centuries.
Each of these notions needs to be balanced with an open-ended design, to fluidly respond to inevitable change.
But, before any of that -- and back to my original point -- ask yourself this question: Must you build at all? Many existing homes simply need to be cracked open, to breathe internally and with the land. Rather than adding a new space, why not try a bay window in an existing room? Or put a new window in a room to expand the internal flow. Or repaint an existing space. Or remove a wall or two. Or ...you get the picture.
All such considerations come after pruning clutter; new life sprouts where there's a fresh opening.
Granted, that's a daunting challenge that can only be taken on by a team of people with varied expertise and experience, usually with an architect as the manager. But everything is a step-by-step process and we all take on only what we can during each step.
Again, there is no such thing as pure green building; we all do what we is possible and what is feasible given the spectrum of life's choices and circumstances. Yet, if we have an ecological awareness and a deep desire to honor all things -- even if we have to make compromises due to issues such as finances -- we will build consciousness. Monks, after all, believe this to be our real work.
One suggestion: Before you tackle all of the pragmatic concerns above, begin with poetic inspiration and try to maintain balance between the pragmatic and the poetic, as two wings of a bird. The first creative act is to consider what "home" means as an internal image and what the land -- and existing house, when applicable -- is calling for. By its most profound definition, HOME is that which is known and nurtures us deeply, going beyond our physical house. Perhaps it's the ocean or water that gives you a deep sense of refuge, or maybe it's the stillness of the early morning. Maybe it's an open sky. Or a gentle breeze. These life-giving impulses can be embodied as the soul of your home. And each place on Earth has an equally full personality that offers qualities to be integrated into a home. At its essence, our home can form a union between us and the place In which we dwell. Life is an interconnected web of relationships and the spaces of our homes provide places for our chosen relationships to deepen.
In closing, here is an image. As a metaphor for how we create and live in our homes, consider the difference between a powerboat and a sailboat. We can live in our houses as if they are powerboats -- with no consideration of how the sun tracks across the sky, no awareness of the flora and fauna which teem with life all around us and no idea of the amazing breezes all around us . We can unconsciously flip on switches which magically provide heat or cooling or light in dark spaces, built with no thought of how the sun animates them. We can build with synthetic materials -- plastic and fiberglass -- and have no real idea how they are made.
Or we can build and live in our homes as if they are sailboats. We can shut off the engines and, in the quietness of the swirling waters, develop an awareness of the world around us -- paying attention to the elements and engaging with them as we dwell. We can open or close windows to provide cool summer breezes. We can build spaces that let in the warming winter sun while blocking out the hot summer sun. We can take pride in the materials of our vessel, asking: "What are the local resources we can use to build our home?" and "What are ways people have always made their homes in our region?" We can ask: "What do I really need?" Or "How can the home I want help me form deeper relationships with my loved ones and all occupants of the land in which I dwell?" And, if we ask these questions, and try to answer them honestly, genuinely and with reverence for the world around us, then through our making of, and living in, our home we can not only live greener, but we can be more fully alive and become an interconnected part of the web of life.
