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Spring 2008
TP
This year, the national/international architecture convention, otherwise known as the AIA
Convention will be here in Boston, MA. It is free to look around the expo floor and learn
about the newest building and design technologies. Exhibitors come from all over the world
showing their wares for interior and exterior design, touting their newest software
programs and showcasing green building features.
Our buildings are so much a part of who we are, how we live and work, and how we relate
to the planet. They are as much a reflection of us as we are of them. They account for
large amounts of CO2 being released to our atmosphere due to the use of materials;
transportation involved; construction; and actual functioning of the building.
Architects hold an important key to the future in the way they transform our cities and
retrofit our existing buildings. When they make green and clean decisions, we experience
the positive effects in our health, quality of life and ability to perform. Too many architects
are still holding on to the business as usual model. They are afraid to take a leap of faith
and move toward the future.
We must transform our urbanscapes to spaces that feel good, breathe, and sustain. Our
architects must listen to us. Cajole, coax, and convince them! Many architects begin to
use green techniques and when the budget gets tight, layer by layer, various green aspects
are deleted from the plans. Often one of the first aspects to be removed, albeit one of the
most important, is the green roof. The next is rainwater recovery. And the list goes on.
The building should be designed around its ability to breathe and let us breathe. Why do
we always drop art and music from the curriculum? These special parts of our life provide
inspiration and creativity energy. They catalyze our brains and our hearts. A good green
building does too. When you enter a building that makes you feel good, you will always
remember it. When you enter a city that makes you feel good, you will want to live there
and return again and again.
What are we waiting for? Architects, show us your new thoughts and green designs.
Boston take note. Transcript readers – tell your family, friends and neighbors to mark
Saturday, May 17, 2008 on their calendars. Saturday, the tradeshow is free to the public.
Take the T down to the new Boston Convention Center and take a tour of our future. Talk
with exhibitors, touch the materials and see if our buildings will surpass our expectations.
Convention will be here in Boston, MA. It is free to look around the expo floor and learn
about the newest building and design technologies. Exhibitors come from all over the world
showing their wares for interior and exterior design, touting their newest software
programs and showcasing green building features.
Our buildings are so much a part of who we are, how we live and work, and how we relate
to the planet. They are as much a reflection of us as we are of them. They account for
large amounts of CO2 being released to our atmosphere due to the use of materials;
transportation involved; construction; and actual functioning of the building.
Architects hold an important key to the future in the way they transform our cities and
retrofit our existing buildings. When they make green and clean decisions, we experience
the positive effects in our health, quality of life and ability to perform. Too many architects
are still holding on to the business as usual model. They are afraid to take a leap of faith
and move toward the future.
We must transform our urbanscapes to spaces that feel good, breathe, and sustain. Our
architects must listen to us. Cajole, coax, and convince them! Many architects begin to
use green techniques and when the budget gets tight, layer by layer, various green aspects
are deleted from the plans. Often one of the first aspects to be removed, albeit one of the
most important, is the green roof. The next is rainwater recovery. And the list goes on.
The building should be designed around its ability to breathe and let us breathe. Why do
we always drop art and music from the curriculum? These special parts of our life provide
inspiration and creativity energy. They catalyze our brains and our hearts. A good green
building does too. When you enter a building that makes you feel good, you will always
remember it. When you enter a city that makes you feel good, you will want to live there
and return again and again.
What are we waiting for? Architects, show us your new thoughts and green designs.
Boston take note. Transcript readers – tell your family, friends and neighbors to mark
Saturday, May 17, 2008 on their calendars. Saturday, the tradeshow is free to the public.
Take the T down to the new Boston Convention Center and take a tour of our future. Talk
with exhibitors, touch the materials and see if our buildings will surpass our expectations.
| An Architectural Treat Karen L. Weber, Editor |
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Antarctic warming deserves attention
I AM dismayed at the bare mention in the media of the collapse of the Wilkins Ice Shelf in
Antarctica. The flippant "since it floats on water, sea levels worldwide won't be affected" so
understates the consequences as to be criminal.
In 1993, if nothing were done to stop greenhouse gas emissions, scientists predicted
Wilkins would collapse in 30 years. It is collapsing in half that time. And behind it, the
massive ice on top of the continent of Antarctica would drown most coasts worldwide.
But, long before that scenario occurs, the melting of Wilkins and other ice shelves, plus
the worldwide horrifically accelerated melting of glaciers, are discharging unprecedented
amounts of fresh water into our oceans, measurably diluting their pH levels.
It is the proper balance of fresh and salt water that keeps our ocean currents moving and
allows for tiny crustaceans at the bottom of the food chain to form their shells. Scientists
have already reported that the shells of these tiny creatures are disintegrating. It is one
thing to threaten the top of the food chain, but to eliminate the bottom of the food chain
is catastrophic and irreversible.
We humans, ultimately, are at the top of every food chain, and we humans are irrevocably
destroying our own very sustenance.
CLYDIA DAVENPORT
West Roxbury
Appeared in Boston Globe 3/31/08
© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.
more stories like this
I AM dismayed at the bare mention in the media of the collapse of the Wilkins Ice Shelf in
Antarctica. The flippant "since it floats on water, sea levels worldwide won't be affected" so
understates the consequences as to be criminal.
In 1993, if nothing were done to stop greenhouse gas emissions, scientists predicted
Wilkins would collapse in 30 years. It is collapsing in half that time. And behind it, the
massive ice on top of the continent of Antarctica would drown most coasts worldwide.
But, long before that scenario occurs, the melting of Wilkins and other ice shelves, plus
the worldwide horrifically accelerated melting of glaciers, are discharging unprecedented
amounts of fresh water into our oceans, measurably diluting their pH levels.
It is the proper balance of fresh and salt water that keeps our ocean currents moving and
allows for tiny crustaceans at the bottom of the food chain to form their shells. Scientists
have already reported that the shells of these tiny creatures are disintegrating. It is one
thing to threaten the top of the food chain, but to eliminate the bottom of the food chain
is catastrophic and irreversible.
We humans, ultimately, are at the top of every food chain, and we humans are irrevocably
destroying our own very sustenance.
CLYDIA DAVENPORT
West Roxbury
Appeared in Boston Globe 3/31/08
© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.
more stories like this