AIArchitect

Among the many messages AIA Convention attendees got Thursday morning, May 3, in San Antonio was an illustration from biologist David Suzuki, host of Canada’s longstanding CBC program the Nature of Things, on how exponential growth works in the consumption of resources.

You start with a vial of nutrient and one microbe, Suzuki said. In his model, the microbe and its progeny will divide once every second. Exponentially, that is a doubling of the population per second: after two seconds, there are four microbes, in three seconds you have eight microbes, and so on. At 60 seconds, in Suzuki's example, all the food will be gone and the vile will be filled with microbes. Working backward, that means that at 59 seconds, the vile was half full of microbes and half full of food, which doesn’t sound too dire. And at 57 seconds, with only a few seconds left till the end, the vile is only 1/8 full of microbes, with what might seem like (at least to the microbes) a plentiful 7/8 of a vile of food.

Human consumption of Earth’s resources is not moving at that speed in real time, of course, but it is moving exponentially, which, Suzuki exclaimed, is ultimately a suicidal pace. And, given homo sapiens’ ability to consume resources so voraciously, especially over the last century (Earth’s population has tripled even since 1936, from 2 billion people to 6 billion), we must take control of our wasteful habits now.

To use his microbial analogy, Suzuki says, the human race is at the 59th minute. The mission of his foundation has a positive message, though: Sustainability Within a Generation. And he explains on his Web site what that means. Take a few minutes to look through it and tell us:

What do you think?

In public debate it is almost invariable that issues of the common good come down to devisive social, political, and/or faith-based stance. The issue of the link between carbon emissions and global warming is no different.

In the last few months, as we have been publicizing five theme speakers for the 2007 AIA National Convention and Exposition (covered extensively in the 5/14-20/07 edition of AIArchitect), we have noticed an interesting thing. One speaker in particular, former Vice President Al Gore, has been a lightning rod of extremes. Some people love the man, some despise him, and few teeter in between.

Unfortunately, that means that the arguments based on reasoned debate are too often lost against the background noise of name calling and the dogma of "I'm right, and you're wrong ... [hands over ears] Lah, lah, lah, lah, I can't hear you."

This week we will take the risk of not saying much of anything here and ask you to take the leap of courage to hit the "Comments" button below and engage in a bit of discussion in the "post a comment" section that pops up (it can be anonymous). Is there a crisis of global proportion regarding carbon emissions? Is it human-caused? If so, are architects the best-positioned professionals to made a difference? And, if not, is it a worthwhile goal or not to curb pollution and oil/coal-based energy production?

What do you think?

by Marshall E. Purnell, FAIA
AIA First Vice President 

In the coming decade, the person Congress recommends and President Bush selects to be Architect of the Capitol for the next 10-year appointment will be managing facilities encompassing nearly 15 million square feet, including major renovations to historic buildings, while assuring, of course, that congressional activities are accommodated fully.

The position of the AIA in informing those key members of Congress who sit on the Architect of the Capitol Commission is that:

Cameron Sinclair, the British-born and educated, California-based architect and cofounder of Architecture for Humanity addressed Canadian architects in mid-May about the role of architects in disaster response. There are organizations that excel in relief work, he said. Architects, though, help most if they organize to help survivors find lasting solutions over time.

Innovative, sustainable, and collaborative design makes a difference, starting with providing shelter and—through competitions, workshops, educational forums, and strategic partnerships—moving to develop the social and physical infrastructures that remake communities. Those are lessons he learned in bringing earthquake-resistant design concepts to Iran and Turkey, flood-control strategies to Southeast Asia, school buildings to India, and community planning efforts to the post-Katrina Gulf region.

Architects Without Borders founder Craig Williams offers his own take on how to approach community redevelopment after a disaster in this week’s Doer’s Profile. As first responders, he says, architects would be limited to a few individuals assessing needs to inform preliminary planning.

When the devastating catastrophe struck Greensburg, Kan., this past month, AIA members brought just such a holistic vision as they stepped up to help—and the way they determined they could help most is by endeavoring to bring the town back as a model of resource-efficient design.

Maybe architects aren’t the best first responders to bring disaster relief, but they are the ones communities are turning to for re-life.

What do you think?