Published Writing
Colorado Shades of Green - A companion exhibit to 10 Shades of Green
The Denver Museum of Contemporary Art concurrent with
The American Institute of Architects National Convention
Denver, Colorado - May 2001
Introduction by James Plagmann, AIA + LEED AP
“Green buildings are the inevitable future of architecture.”
“Ten Shades of Green…should not just be seen. It should be enacted into law.”
These bold, unqualified assertions are not taken from the pages of environmentally focused magazines, nor from the promotional literature of organizations encouraging sustainable design. Rather, they are the opening lines from an article in Architectural Record, and from a New York Times column by architecture critic Herbert Muschamp, in their respective reviews of the exhibition “Ten Shades of Green.” It is because of these rave reviews that we, the local American Institute of Architects Committee on the Environment, have brought this exhibit to the thousands of architects that will be in Denver for the 2001 AIA National Convention, and to the people of Colorado.
Curated by Peter Buchanan (an architect, city planner, writer, critic and former deputy editor of the Architecture Review in London), and organized by the Architecture League of New York, this exhibit has been on display at the Architectural League’s Gallery in New York, the National Building Museum in Washington D.C., and will continue on tour throughout the U.S. in 2001. It is apropos that this exhibit be staged at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver, for, while many of the techniques encompassed by the term “sustainable design” are ancient, sustainable design as it is practiced today could not be more cutting edge. What we are witnessing is a blending of the ancient and modern, yielding buildings that are beautiful and functional, responsible and responsive, elegant and efficient. In this time of increasing energy prices, with much of society yearning for a simpler, more meaningful life, what could be a more contemporary art?
Architecture is, arguably, the most encompassing of the arts, in that we not only behold it, but experience it through inhabiting it as well. It is for this reason that architecture must transcend the purely aesthetic and respond also to our functional needs. In addition, because of construction’s enormous impact on the natural environment, it must respect and respond to nature. Whereas many architects use such cerebral and theoretical concepts as “folding space”, or “opposing and overlapping angles and planes jutting forcefully upward” to inform their designs, there can be no more powerful approach than to build in harmony with nature; to literally anchor the building to it’s site, responding in a very real and direct way to the movement of the sun, the specific wind patterns, the local climate and existing topography, hydrology and even the surrounding buildings. Materials should be selected that minimally impact the natural environment from which they are extracted, and that enhance the indoor environment that they help to inform. Buildings designed in this way almost act as if they are alive, responding to climatic conditions and cooperating with, rather than competing with nature, and moving us one step closer to a more intimate connection with the earth, a reunion desperately needed in this fragmented, stress-filled age.
That “Ten Shades of Green” features primarily non-American projects speaks to two issues. First, that other countries, because of limited land and resources, are not only encouraging, but mandating sustainable design and construction. These requirements are in the form of governmental regulations and market demand, and reflect a sense of global responsibility. Second is that there exist, in this country, perverse disincentives to sustainable development, as well as many misconceptions that hinder it’s wider acceptance. Indeed, Peter Buchanan states that “The United States is far behind, and American architects will have to work very hard, very fast to catch up.” But Mr. Buchanan’s views may also reflect the fact that he has worked primarily in Europe, for the movement toward sustainable design and construction has accelerated significantly in the U.S., in spite of the obstacles encountered. Perhaps it is the unstoppable force of an idea whose time has come?
Witness the fact that the U.S. government, the largest procurer of design services in the country, is now mandating sustainable design experience in it’s solicitations for design and construction services. (Note also, this exhibit’s primary sponsor inside the front cover of this brochure). Look as well, to organizations such as the EPA, Audubon House, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Rocky Mountain Institute, for leadership in advancing sustainable development. (For more information on creating a sustainable culture, please read the book “Natural Capitalism”. You will be glad you did.) But it is not just environmental organizations that are at the avant garde of the “green” movement. Companies such as Lockheed, Ford Motor Company, Nike, Southern California Gas Company, and Herman Miller, are building sustainably, developers of Civano, Haymount, Elitch Gardens, and Stapleton are incorporating sustainable practices and materials, and cities and states are instituting green building programs to encourage a more responsible approach to development. These projects prove that the environment and economics are not mutually exclusive, but, in fact, essential partners in creating a sustainable culture. We here in Colorado are also building sustainably. And what follows is a small sampling of projects representing a variety of building types that reflect the local, Colorado Shades of Green.
