Taking Care of Business

Summary: Contributing Editor Michael J. Crosbie, PhD, AIA, really stirred up the editorial pot this week with his “Sustainable Cities, The Race Is On” column. Some readers objected to his point of view on fostering sustainability; others objected to his language, which they found inflammatory and polarizing. Another reader takes us to task for not including a photo of the original design for 2 Columbus Circle.

Keep those e-mails and letters coming, folks!

Re: Sustainable Cities, The Race Is On

While I applaud the recognition of the achievements in advancing sustainable development that are highlighted in Michael Crosbie’s article, I find unfortunate the attitude that comes out in a couple of statements in his article. As the chair of the Department of Architecture at the University of Hartford, I would hope that he would be encouraging thoughtful debate by his students on all of the issues, and welcoming different opinions on environmental and other issues. What comes across in the statements I have highlighted below is a mocking, intolerant tone that is inappropriate for the chairman of an educational institution.

“While folks in the U.S. debate about whether or not to turn the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge into a vast stretch of Swiss cheese in our myopic quest for more crude…”

and

“It’s time to stop thinking about more oil rigs and to start designing for a carbon-free future.”

While no one can debate the importance of being responsible in our development, and in our use of natural resources and energy, nor in the need to face the energy challenges head-on, there is a kind of “boy are you stupid” tone to these statements in the article. We clearly have a major challenge in addressing our limited supplies of fossil-fuel based energy, and need to map a course to transition to a sustainable future. This may frankly involve not only conservation and new technologies, but also the need for more development of our oil reserves in the short term as part of a long-term solution—but that’s what it should be—part of an overall solution. It’s especially important that educators don’t take “talk show host” type positions and approaches, but rather encourage their students to be open-minded and to take thoughtful positions on issues.

As part of understanding all sides of the issue, and differing scientific viewpoints to the IPCC positions on climate change, I would encourage the reading of the contrasting viewpoints of dissenting IPCC scientists in the book The Deniers by Lawrence Solomon. Some of the stridency and intolerance that is coming out in the debate on the need for urgency in addressing global environmental issues centers on Al Gore’s presentation on global warming, and his own intolerant attitude toward those who don’t agree with him. There are many exceptionally well qualified environmental scientists who are IPCC reviewers, don’t agree with him, and have been alarmed by the lack of objectivity and transparency in this organization. All I am urging is to keep an open mind and to try to continue to look for the truth in pursuing solutions, rather than mocking others.

I do think that it is clear we have an urgent need to address these environmental issues, and do also applaud all efforts to push the technology forward—we just need to pay attention to the social component and try to take everyone along with us…

Thanks for the opportunity to express an opinion!

—Andrew F. Cronan, AIA, LEED-AP
Guernsey Tingle Architects
Williamsburg, Va

I wonder, isn’t it also a “myopic” quest to “design our way out of the fossil fuel pinch” while ignoring, and fighting against, safely using the natural resources that are located under our own feet? Why can we not do both? Wouldn’t that be the rational thing to do?

I wonder if China and the UAE have to do a bunch of environmental impact studies before breaking ground. Or jump through all the layers of zoning ordinances and building codes that those of us practicing in the Western World are required to. Do you think China will use rebar in their buildings this time?

And finally, do you see any irony in the fact that the UAE wouldn’t be able to do any of this if not for the vast amounts of money that is provided to them because of their “fossil fuels”?

I get so tired of the one-sided arguments for “green” everything. Working toward energy-efficient designs and integrating environmentally sustainable solutions should be part of our profession to be sure. But it should not become a religion that is blindly followed while totally ignoring the energy methods that have made our lives so productive that we now have the luxury of even talking about sustainability in the first place.

—James D. Powers, AIA, LEED-AP
Principal, PowerSquare Design & Architecture Ltd.
Lakewood, Colo.

As a member of the AIA, I am not comfortable with the organization publishing such extreme opinions as, "While folks in the U.S. debate about whether or not to turn the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge into a vast stretch of Swiss cheese in our myopic quest for more crude...." I expect the editors of our organization to temper such polar opinions to respect a consensus platform worthy of the AIA and not just pass such inflammatory language in AIA publications. Being aggressively offensive will only make the push toward responsible sustainable design more challenging.

—Andrew J. Petrosky, AIA
Williamson, N.Y.

Perhaps a little more editing of the summary for objectivity would be useful.

—Robert Krieger, AIA
Vice President, Dahn & Krieger, Architects Planners PC
Hackensack, N.J.

Ed. note: The “Face of the AIA” columns, Doer’s Profiles, Member-to-Member articles, Letters to the Editor, the blog, and the poll are all places within AIArchitect for members to express their points of view. It’s your newsletter: We encourage anyone who wants to participate to keep the dialog going—on sustainability issues and anything else that’s on your mind.

Re: The Museum of Arts and Design at 2 Columbus Circle Opens

It would have lent strength to your piece on the new Museum of Arts and Design in New York if you had included an image or photograph of the original Edward Durrell Stone building for comparison.

—Anne T. Sullivan, AIA
Vice President, Thornton Tomasetti
Chicago

Ed. note: Anne is right, and we should have done so. Here is a photo of Stone’s original design, which we retrieved from Wikipedia.