Summary:This week, we have letters about our article on “Copyright or Copy Wrong,” The AIA Construction Consensus Forecast, the Miesian Ten Museum Park in Miami, and a rather lengthy missive refuting the outcomes of global warming.

Re: Copyright or Copy Wrong?

Bravo, again. We can't reinforce this message enough!

—Deborah Marquardt, Publications and Public Relations
Hanbury Evans Wright Vlattas + Company
Norfolk, Va

Re: Nonresidential Construction Expected to Be Turning Down by Year’s End

This is a great article! To have several forecasting sources at one place is awesome!
Do you have the historicals on these resources as well?

—Crista Van Norman
Lennox International

Ed. note: We couldn’t agree more. All the credit goes to Chief Economist Kermit Baker.
The historicals are available on the AIA Economics Web site.

Re: Ten Museum Park: Mies at the Beach

Wow! Super Wow! Finally, as an old Mies lover, I see some hope for the future in American architecture. Refinement of thought and space rather than the eclectic mix-master we have seen this past 20 years has returned. Hurrah!

—Robert C. Mutchler, FAIA
Fargo, N.D.

In "Ten Museum Park: Mies at the Beach," Associate Editor Zach Mortice makes the comment that the curtainwalls of the Seagram Building and Lever House are steel. While both Mies and SOM did use carbon steel mullions in other buildings, those of the two mentioned are bronze and stainless steel, respectively. Lever's wall was framed with the formed and rolled stainless in welded assembly like carbon steel mullions would have been. That wall was replaced in 2001, under guidance from SOM, with aluminum framing and stainless caps. The use of extruded bronze for the mullions, window frames, column cladding, mechanical louvers, and bronze sheet for the spandrel panels at Seagram was unique and highly extravagant, making it of particular note to its social nature and historicity. In a publication devoted to keeping architects informed and at the top of their capabilities, details such as this should be much better regarded by the researchers and writers. All of the information is easily found in on-line publications, some directly associated with the AIA.

—Roger Retzlaff, AIA
Milwaukee

Ed. note: Thanks for the extra details. While interesting, they are not in the main story line of the article. The writer meant only to compare their heavy-looking steel frames with the light-looking concrete frame of Ten Museum Park, which actually is the focus of the article.

Re: A Way to Achieve 50% Carbon Reduction (blog)

Mark Twain wrote, “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.” It is time for the architectural community to pause and reflect. Too often I see architects regurgitating junk science, spin, and other green falsehoods.

Modern climate science is politically motivated. Green issues are not Red vs. Blue state issues. There are no politics in science. The science is still out there on global climate change. The earth is heating up. It’s up about 1 degree in the last 100 years, normal for natural variations. No need for alarm. There is no scientific community consensus about global warming. Plus, since when has science been determined by consensus? Politics is determined by consensus.

CO2 levels have been the green community’s bull’s-eye. CO2 has been converted from a naturally occurring gas to a harmful pollutant. CO2 is vital to every living thing in the world. You don’t have to be smarter that a fifth grader to know that plants use CO2 and give off O2. In fact, at higher concentrations of CO2, they are healthier, grow more vigorously, and more effectively use their energy. CO2 has been found to be a result of a warming environment and not the cause of warming environment. CO2 is a tiny portion of the naturally occurring green house gases. The atmosphere is made up of water vapor and greenhouse gases, 97 percent and 3 percent respectively. Of those gases, CO2 makes up about 0.037% of the atmosphere. CO2 currently is at a concentration of 330 ppm. That’s up 30 percent from levels recorded 100 years ago. Most of that rise has occurred before 1940 and before people were claiming there was going to be global cooling in the latter half of the last century.

The earth is heating up a small amount. It’s not going to be bad. It’s much easier to live in warmer climates, than cooler climates. Look at Europe in the medieval period. Crops died and diseases prevailed. The last 100 years of warmer climate has seen the greatest advancements in history in terms of health, technology, and wealth. Even if the earth heats up 2 degrees as predicted, it would be like living in New York City having the weather of Washington, D.C. Not too bad?

It is also now known that alternative energy means can not and will not be able to provide enough energy. Bio-fuel has just been found to actually cause more damage to the environment than gasoline. Solar panels are ugly, not efficient, and not reliable. In time, energy technology will change for the better. But let’s not force-feed solar panels, wind turbines, and bio-fuel. It’s carelessly spending other people’s money based on false claims and more on feel-good.

I would like our profession to return to rational and objective building science. Let’s think twice before we ask our legislators, economy, community, colleagues, and clients to waste time and money.

—J.G., AIA, LEED-AP