Roundtable discussion, sustainability and preservation

Are sustainability and preservation driving forces in the market, for now and the future? Read Participants' Bios.

ARG is directing the adaptive reuse of the 1932 Linde Center for Global Environmental Science at the California Institute of Technology (Cal Tech) in Pasadena. Originally designed to house a 200-in. telescope and currently used as the Henry M. Robinson Laboratory of Astrophysics, it will be used as an academic center. The project has involved a number of innovative and groundbreaking sustainable measures that take advantage of the unique building design, including exploiting the thermal mass and maintaining the original sun-telescope to bring light into the building.

Architectural Resources Group,
Bruce D. Judd
We have found over the last year that nearly all of our clients and potential clients are interested in sustainability. They range from institutional clients, to cities, to developers and individuals. Many of them require a “LEED rating” for their projects even though it is clear that they don’t really understand what it means. It is encouraging that they feel this way and believe that it is important and that they are all making efforts to become more sustainable. We are also finding that more and more clients are looking at their projects in terms of life-cycle costs, not just the initial project capital cost. When energy consumption is factored into the project, the overall long-term project costs are reduced.

We have had 11 of our staff members become LEED Accredited Professionals with the goal of having all of our professional staff becoming accredited over the next year. We have established a Sustainable Committee in the office that makes presentations for the entire office, we have suppliers show their latest sustainable products and we now have a large (and growing) library of sustainable products and books. We have also set aside a part of our weekly Monday morning staff meeting to discuss sustainable issues and the latest information on products and sustainable issues about our projects.

We have gone back and looked at many of our previously completed projects from a LEED rating and sustainability perspective and discovered that many of our projects could have received LEED ratings had the system existed at the time. We have also conveyed this to clients.

We have found that generally, most building owners believe that working on an historic building is more expensive and takes longer to accomplish. We have been explaining to many that the best thing one can do regarding sustainability is to reuse an existing building. The statement that “the greenest building is the one already built” makes mental light bulbs go off when you relate it to clients.

It is also interesting for clients to learn that most historic buildings are inherently energy conserving, with thick walls, operable windows, natural daylighting, transom windows, etc. Many of the things that building owners should do initially include inexpensive items such as weather-stripping and insulating attics, etc.

There is a long way to go before the general public understands how critical buildings, and their energy consumption after completion, are to our country. Most of our profession now looks at sustainable strategies as a regular part of design and hopefully this will permeate throughout the construction industry and society. We still have some developers and others who believe that tearing down an historic building and then constructing a “green” building in its place is the right thing to do and we need to continue to educate people about how shortsighted this is.

One project that Architectural Resources Group (ARG) is designing now is the Linde Center for Global Environmental Science at the California Institute of Technology (Cal Tech) in Pasadena. Architect Russell Porter designed the building in 1932 to house the team fabricating the world’s largest (at that time) 200-in. telescope. Currently used as the Henry M. Robinson Laboratory of Astrophysics, this historic structure will be adaptively reused to house an academic center uniting faculty from chemistry, engineering, geology, environmental science and other fields.

The project has involved a number of innovative and groundbreaking sustainable measures that take advantage of the unique building design including: exploiting the concrete building’s thermal mass; maintaining the original sun-telescope (coelostat) to track the sun and send light deep into the building; and using the lower portion of the telescope pit to hold water to service a radiant heating and cooling system. Combining traditional sustainable and energy saving treatments for historic structures such as weather-stripping and insulation, with the imaginative reuse of the historic coelostat (initially thought to be a liability) to provide daylighting and water storage will result in a demonstration project for Cal Tech in the Linde Center for Global Environmental Science.

The Willow School in Peapack, NJ, (LEED Gold) was designed by Farewell Mills Gatsch to harmonize with its woodland setting and the existing historic farmstead buildings. The project included a master plan for the site, a new 15,000-sq.ft. classroom building and adapting the house for use as an administration building. Photo: Taylor Photography

Farewell Mills Gatsch Architects, Michael Farewell and Michael J. Mills
Farewell Mills Gatsch Architects has practiced sustainability for more than 30 years in the preservation and adaptive reuse of existing buildings and in energy-conscious new architecture. Our firm has long had a broadly defined environmental foundation to its work, and the clients who have sought us out have shared that orientation. This “broadly defined environmentalism” goes beyond the core components of green building to include relationships of architecture and landscape, cultural values, and of course, historic preservation and the stewardship of resources. Our practice then, has embraced the full complexity of the environment in generating buildings that are integral to their settings as well as sustainable.

With the growing interest in sustainability in the last ten years, this commitment has expanded to become a principal focus of our firm. We have hired architects and interns who have a demonstrated interest in, and experience with, sustainable design. We encourage staff members to become LEED accredited, with financial support and in-house training programs to prepare for the LEED accreditation examinations. One of our associates prepares a monthly in-house document called “Green Notes” that reviews news, products and projects that might interest our staff and promote dialogue. In our work, we raise the issues of environmentally responsible design even if that is not a stated goal of the project, and we actively pursue projects with clients who are predisposed to a sustainable design approach to their projects, such as the General Services Administration (GSA) and colleges and universities.

The extraordinary upsurge in public interest (especially among institutions such as schools and colleges, churches and museums) in buildings that are not only sustainable but that also make visible their sustainability has been very important. These are institutions that are interested in the economics of sustainability – efficient systems, reduced consumption, cleaner indoor environments – but that also have a philosophical goal in their mission statements of pursuing best practices and encouraging participation. This is a perfect fit for our firm, with its focus on preservation and the integration of new design into sensitive natural and cultural environments.

Unfortunately, many clients do not fully understand that recycling old buildings is one of the most environmentally responsible and sustainable activities. This situation is slowly changing with, for instance, the National Trust, the American Institute of Architects, the Association for Preservation Technology, and Traditional Building’s efforts to keep this issue in the forefront of the public dialogue through published articles and conferences.

However, we still see several ongoing challenges to the recognition of preservation as a sustainable activity. Among them, the limited LEED points that are given for the decision to reuse an existing building rather than tear it down; the development of a “recycling” industry for building materials that may actually encourage demolition as opposed to preservation; the lack of understanding of “embodied energy,” which is part of the resource represented by the existing building; and the removal of perfectly good old-growth wood windows for new, thermally efficient vinyl or aluminum windows that may not last as long and consume more energy in production than wood.

Our broader definition of environmentalism encompasses historic resources as well as natural habitats; the Willow School in Peapack, NJ, perfectly reflects our firm's philosophy. The new school featured an existing 19th-century farmstead with main house and barn, adjacent fields, stream corridor and woodland habitat. After a master plan for the site was developed, we implemented a first phase of construction – a 15,000-sq.ft. classroom building – which acted as a bridge between the historic buildings and landscape and the natural landscape to the west. The house was adapted for use as an administration building, with a preservation approach to the exterior and main interior spaces and later, the adaptation of the barn.

The landscape around the historic buildings was maintained as a farmstead – an open space with object-like buildings. The new construction, an LEED-certified building (Gold) features a rigorous attention to materials that are recycled or made of renewable resources, with careful attention to daylighting and ventilation. The new structure is elemental and restrained. This is architecture that recollects historical methods of building while integrating new technologies. The balance of historical site, contemporary school, and natural habitat is emblematic of sophisticated environmentalism.

Goody Clancy is renovating this 50-year-old, five-story, 159,129-sq.ft. building, New Cabell Hall, at the University of Virginia. Although the character of the building is considered uninspiring, the university recognized that it is more cost-effective to renovate than to replace it. The renovation will address systems improvements such as replacing heating and adding central air conditioning, and will update interior finishes and classrooms and create a new lobby.

Goody Clancy, Jean Carroon
If the “Age of Lean” forces recognition of existing resources like buildings and reinforces a culture of reuse instead of replacement then it isn’t an “Age of Lean” at all, but an important shift in values essential to creating a sustainable world. Recycling of paper, plastic and aluminum cans is now common, but the general public and much of the building community still doesn’t understand that reusing buildings is also good for the planet.

Historic preservation is such an obvious and necessary strategy for a sustainable culture that it continually surprises me how little it is discussed at conferences focusing on green design. The literature and reports from groups as diverse as the United Nations Environmental Programme and the McKinsey Global Institute have all stressed that focusing on existing buildings is absolutely essential to reducing carbon emissions and addressing climate change. This is not the same as acknowledging that cultural values and a sense of place are reinforced by maintaining historic buildings, but this literature also exists. The bottom line is that historic preservation is good for the planet and for people – two of the three legs of sustainability. The third leg, profit, is possible if we provide incentives that reinforce repair and reuse of buildings and more accurately assign the costs of replacement and sprawl.

Is our design practice being changed by the sustainability movement and the link to historic preservation? No, rather we continue to ask how our practice can more quickly change the world by making this common sense approach to sustainability common place. We have acknowledged the influence of the U. S. Green Building Council by requiring all professional staff to become LEED accredited. We stress, however, that LEED is just a tool and not the final definition of environmental responsibility. Our design approach has not changed; our designs support and celebrate community through urban planning, new construction and a large portfolio of historic preservation. Our projects are urban and transit-oriented. We build and renew for the long run; seeking durability and low maintenance, introducing energy and water conservation measures and enhancing spaces with daylight and connectivity to nature.

We currently have a wonderful project underway at the University of Virginia – the renovation of a 50-year old building that was almost demolished. The studies completed by the university show that it is more cost-effective to renovate the building than replace with new, but skepticism remains about whether the relentlessly functional but uninspiring character of the building can be improved. Of course, we know that it can and fortunately, the leadership of the university concurs; David Neuman, Architect for the University, fully endorses the importance of building reuse in moving towards sustainability. His position is, unfortunately, not the norm on campuses that continue to seek carbon neutrality through more construction not less.

We have a great team: John Milner Associates; 2rw Consultants for mechanical, electrical and plumbing; Rolf Jenson & Associates for code and fire protection; Robert Silman Associates for structural engineering; Siteworks as landscape architects; Viridian Energy & Environment as sustainability consultants; and Vermeulens Cost Consultants. The entire team is committed to sustainable design in the broadest sense and seeks solutions that will provide long-term performance and user satisfaction, reinforce community, create a sense of delight and connection to the outdoors and of course, reduce energy consumption. Having just completed design development, we look forward to the project becoming a compelling case study for building reuse not demolition.

The Smithsonian Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture, formerly the 1836 Patent Office Building, was adapted and preserved by Hartman-Cox Architects. Historic finishes were restored, historic floors were salvaged and the infrastructure was renewed. In the 1950s, the building was almost destroyed to make room for a parking lot.

Hartman-Cox Architects, Mary Katherine Lanzillotta
Donovan D. Rypkema, in his keynote address at the March 2007 Traditional Building conference in Boston, noted that “historic preservation is, in and of itself, sustainable development.” As demonstrated by our practice over more than 40 years, Hartman-Cox Architects concurs. Almost all of our projects have incorporated some aspect of preservation, from designing new buildings that preserve the regional character of the site, to renovating existing buildings for new uses, to adding on to existing buildings. Hartman-Cox designs environmentally, economically and socially responsible buildings in the public realm.

Our firm works in the central cores of cities such as Washington, DC, (our hometown), and Denver, CO, or within the heart of historic campuses such as the University of Virginia, Tulane University and Washington University. The locations are geographically diverse but share a common thread; each of these buildings dovetails into an existing urban or campus infrastructure system. The benefits are, at least, two-fold. First, the existing fabric is preserved, maintained and invigorated. Second, resources are not used to install new, extensive tie-ins to offsite utility infrastructure. The reuse of the systems also means that, since less of the project funds are allocated for utility infrastructure, more of the monies can be used to create an attractive and long-lasting building.

While designing in these various locations, we maintain the regional character of place. To do this we select materials that are, to a large extent, indigenous and match materials in the adjacent buildings. We tend to find that the materials are locally available, as is the Missouri granite used at Washington University or the “Duke” stone quarried within a few miles of Duke University in Durham, NC. The use of locally available materials ties these buildings to their place, and is the responsible approach to design.

According to the 1999 Burra Charter from Australia ICOMOS, “Places of cultural significance enrich people’s lives, often providing a deep and inspirational sense of connection to community and landscape, to the past and to lived experiences[…] They are irreplaceable and precious.” This concept was the guiding philosophy for one of our projects, 16 Market Street in Denver. The developer was specifically interested in maintaining the character of the Lower Downtown Denver neighborhood and re-establishing some of what had been lost to “urban renewal” in the ‘60s and ‘70s. At the same time, we created an economically sustainable mixed-use development with residential units on the upper floors, office levels in the middle and retail at the street level. This project served as a catalyst for redevelopment in this neighborhood, spurring subsequent similar development.

At the center of preservation and sustainability is the reuse of existing structures. The Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery share the historic Old Patent Office Building, whose supervising architects include Robert Mills, Thomas U. Walter and Adolph Cluss. The building occupies two city blocks in the heart of L’Enfant’s plan for Washington, DC, halfway between the President’s House and the U.S. Capitol. This 1836 building survived the War Between the States, hosted President Lincoln’s Inaugural Ball in 1865 and served as the venue for displaying thousands of patent models in the 19th century. In the 1950s, it almost became a parking lot, but was saved by President Eisenhower who transferred the building to the Smithsonian for use as the American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery. In 2000, they once again required renovation. It reopened in July 2006 as a 21st century museum. As part of the renovation, historic finishes were restored, historic floors were salvaged, cataloged and reinstalled and the infrastructure was renewed to continue to extend the life of this building. The notion that this culturally significant building could have been turned into a parking lot is mind-boggling. In addition to the embodied energy which would have been lost, the cost of demolition alone should have dissuaded the consideration.

Hartman-Cox Architects’ work has been, and continues to be, focused on urban and campus contexts. Many of the projects have reused older buildings, all of which are designed and constructed for a long life span. As our practice evolves, we will continue pursue preservation as part of our broader approach to sustainability.

Lord, Aeck & Sargent is rehabilitating three historic structures in a downtown Atlanta Historic District and is using building information modeling (BIM) to support preservation design, LEED Silver certification and a design-build delivery method.

Lord, Aeck & Sargent,
Jack Pyburn
From my experience in past economic downturns, preservation and investment in existing buildings sustains a higher level of market activity than new construction. Credible current opinion suggests that sustainable design and construction may play a similar role in relieving our present economic doldrums. Preservation and sustainability are, and will continue after this current recessionary period to be, significant forces driving the design and construction market. Based on the current attention being given to sustainability in particular, their presence will grow as a percentage of design and construction output. However, the two are not yet appropriately aligned to be synergistic. Preservation and sustainability have shared interests and common goals. Preservation addresses the current needs of historically meaningful buildings and communities so they can contribute to our cultural, economic and environmental quality of life and future. Initially, the sustainability movement has to be focused on reducing the environmental impacts of new building construction.

The preservation and maintenance of the existing built environment with its massive inventory of embodied energy, resources and value has to date been of secondary or tertiary priority in that “sustainability” movement. However, the process for evolving a “sustained” built environment is currently supporting open discussion and consideration of ways to fully recognize the value of preservation as a sustainability practice.

In the midst of this yet-rationalized relationship, the sustainability movement is having a profound impact on preservation practice and projects. Lord, Aeck & Sargent is a good example of the impact. Lord, Aeck & Sargent was a pioneer in sustainable, energy-efficient architectural design as one of the first architecture firms to sign on to the 2030 Challenge. We currently have more than 30 projects that are targeting or have attained LEED certification and 56 LEED-certified professionals. We have five design studios, including an Historic Preservation (HP) Studio of 26. In the HP Studio, which has six LEED APs, LEED-targeted projects are a significant part of our current and projected workload.

One current project that demonstrates the future of both preservation design and sustainability is the rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of three historic structures in a downtown Atlanta Historic District.

The $25-million project is targeting LEED Silver and is being documented using building information modeling (BIM) to support preservation design, LEED Silver certification and a design-build delivery method. Another preservation project in the studio that aligns preservation with sustainability practices is the Hardman Farm State (of Georgia) Historic Site where Lord, Aeck & Sargent principal Susan Turner, AIA, LEED AP, is directing the restoration of this intact early 19th century farmstead. In this project, natural ventilation for both interpretative purposes and environmental management is an integral part of the LEED documentation.

Looking to the future, it will be important for the preservation community to continue working to align preservation and sustainability. Much good work is being done by leaders in preservation and sustainability toward that end. Here is my wish list for progress in the coming year:

Page & Turnbull, John D. Lesak
New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman believes we have entered the Climate-Energy Era, with climate change, population growth and globalization putting increased pressure on natural and cultural resources. Preservation and sustainability are tremendously important in this time of change, now made even more urgent by the economic crisis. But if preservation professionals are to remain relevant, things must change.

Page & Turnbull’s preservation plan for Charleston, SC, specifically identifies rising water levels and intensification of storms as threats to cultural resources. It also calls for appointing a sustainability coordinator to work with historic building owners.

Most Page & Turnbull clients come to us because we have similar goals. However, much of the general public still believes that something new is better than something old. Like climate scientists, preservationists need to get beyond debating factual evidence. Reusing old buildings is smart. Preservation professionals know how to upgrade for energy efficiency – and we did it before LEED. Preservation Brief 3 Conserving Energy in Historic Buildings (1978) and the Trust’s New Energy from Old Buildings (1981) provided guidance.

We also do windows. The NCPTT, English Heritage, Historic Scotland and Parks Canada have all published studies that show replacing older windows does not equate to energy savings. Even Energy Star says replacing windows for efficiency alone doesn’t pay.

We need to quit arguing these points, accept the benefits of embodied energy, and start tackling the larger issues of sustainability. It is time to replace the National Trust “gas can” with a fuel cell. In developing and using preservation tools such as Historic Structures Reports (HSRs) or Building Preservation Plans (BPPs), preservation professionals examine past, present and future performance of buildings. More and more these documents not only include LEED-Existing Building measures, but also disaster preparedness planning in response to climate change. This life-cycle mentality of the plans helps owners to be smarter and more effective stewards of their properties and enables planners to frame comprehensive and long-term strategies.

We’re pleased, too, that newer iterations of the LEED rating system are moving toward a Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology, which assesses environmental impacts over the lifetime of a building and its materials. Current emphasis, rightly so, is on CO₂ reductions, but what about environmental toxins? Compact fluorescent lights, now all the rage, use mercury. In fact, 20 tons of mercury² will be added to residential interiors per year if all the households in the U.S. switch to CFLs. Many photovoltaic panels rely on selenium- or cadmium-arsenic to produce a current.

Small amounts of mercury and arsenic are harmful to humans. As professionals who have dealt with the fallouts from lead and asbestos, shouldn’t we question the future ramifications of energy-saving products? LCAs can keep us from fooling ourselves.

We’re lead to believe that “smart” buildings equal higher performance, but we are skeptical. Newer systems controls tend to have much shorter life spans than older systems. As any user over the age of six knows, blue-toothed technologies wear out or quickly become obsolete. Besides, does the efficiency of flat-panel displays justify the use of nitrogen triflouride, a greenhouse gas with 17,000 times the global warming effect of carbon dioxide?

We frequently discuss with our clients how to achieve higher performance with simple design or intervention, making the best use of inherent and time-tested building features such as thermal mass, building orientation and operable windows. At The Webb Schools in Southern California, for example, we did not install air conditioning in several 1930s and 1960s masonry dormitories. Controlling solar gain and allowing rapid air-exchange during relatively cool nights created comfortable environs for students during the school year. “Dumb” buildings, maybe, but they work for the long haul.

We also designed a new black box theater at Webb, the Copeland Donahue. Its central site increases campus density while avoiding sprawl and provides disabled access to other buildings on campus. The design incorporates thermal mass, regional materials that are durable and environmentally friendly, recycled products, efficient lighting, and water-efficient landscaping. The theater also expands to make use of the outdoors, with one of its walls opening to a patio.

Like design, assessment tools and rating systems must be flexible enough to accommodate concerns particular to the project at hand. In collaboration with the National Park Service, our firm is using Value-Based-Analysis (VBA) to evaluate projects at Yosemite and Grand Canyon national parks. VBAs enable project stakeholders to define and assign points to categories ranging from impact on endangered species to speed of construction. Scores from these defined metrics are balanced against cost to determine best value relevant to the specific project and location.

As preservation professionals, we must hold our ground on measures long proven to be sound, continue our efforts to educate the public about stewardship, carefully choose the technologies we insert into historic structures, and find useful ways to blend new and old. Along the way, we need to be vigilant in preventing new generations of mistakes.

QUINN EVANS | ARCHITECTS rehabilitated the Pere Marquette Depot in Bay City, MI, after it had been abused and vacant for more than 50 years. Instead of going to the landfill, the extant brick walls, heavy timber attic framing, second floor original offices and almost all of the original windows and doors were saved, repaired and reused.

QUINN EVANS | ARCHITECTS, Ilene R. Tyler
Sustainability and preservation are related, and together they are a driving force in the market, now and in the future. Every client wants to know what we can do to make their project more sustainable, whether or not they should pursue LEED certification, and how this objective impacts overall project cost. QUINN EVANS | ARCHITECTS has always applied this kind of thinking to our projects, but now we do so more methodically. Everyone in the firm, from principals to interns, is urged to become an LEED Accredited Professional and increasingly, we are meeting that goal. As we increase our level of participation and commitment to practicing sustainability, we promote the culture of LEED thinking. My partner, Carl Elefante, did us all a great service by making the phrase “the greenest building is the one already built” common language.

Within the firm, QUINN EVANS | ARCHITECTS uses a “right foot” guide at the beginning of each project to gather the project team together and begin our work on the right foot. In addition, we have instituted a Sustainability Right Foot Guide that addresses in more detail the key issues relating to sustainability. These are organized into two topic areas, one that focuses on environmental conditions and sustainability goals, and another that considers the sustainability best-practices that should be adopted for new buildings, substantial additions and/or comprehensive rehabilitation projects.

Although not every client is prepared to pursue LEED certification, our team continually looks for every opportunity to incorporate sustainable design principles into all projects. We view this as a primary responsibility of our profession. We strongly believe that the values of sustainable design are synonymous with the needs of a learning, working and sales environment. Many of the same design elements that create these environments are also sustainable: maximizing natural lighting and ventilation; providing superior indoor air quality; using natural, non-toxic and renewable materials; reducing water use within the building and using recycled water for site irrigation; reducing energy use for HVAC, hot water, and lighting and employing renewable energy sources; and protecting and enhancing the surrounding environment while creating opportunities for interaction with nature.

On some elementary level, our clients assume that preserving old buildings is the truest form of sustainability, but they generally do not understand the potential costs and benefits to justify that decision. There is always a bias against preserving old buildings, if the work is perceived as more trouble than it’s worth, or if it is perceived as costing more to execute than a conventional gut-and-rehab or teardown-and-build-new project. Because most of our work involves rehabilitation or restoration of older buildings, we begin with an expectation that recycling old buildings will be a good thing; it is then up to us to negotiate common ground for making the project also meet quantifiable, accepted sustainable standards.

We often use a simple online calculator to estimate the embodied energy of an existing building, and compare that to the energy expended in demolition plus construction of an entirely new building. This exercise illustrates the hidden energy cost of demolition and replacement over working with an existing building, and can be expressed in something as simple as gallons of gas. Not all projects are candidates for LEED certification, but each project merits consideration of the scope of work against a sustainability checklist. Using the LEED ratings checklist, it is possible to identify the “low-hanging fruit” where the project will earn the easiest points, and what additional efforts may be required to attain certification. Even when not pursuing LEED certification, the checklist is helpful in guiding project decisions.

A case in point is the recent comprehensive rehabilitation of the Pere Marquette Depot in Bay City, MI. The project scope was built around restoring the character-defining features of the former train station, at the same time making the building viable for a new use. The benefit to the community of saving this iconic structure can not be measured or quantified by LEED or any other rating system. Pride of place, bootstrap accomplishment and self-respect are the just rewards of such determination and commitment to this project. Work was accomplished largely by local trades; materials were sourced locally to restore the masonry and woodwork.

The new Slover Library in Norfolk, VA, combines restoration and renovation and is part of UDA’s plan to reintroduce urbanism into the downtown and surrounding neighborhoods.

Urban Design Associates,
Rob Robinson
The work at UDA typically begins at the community scale, whether it is an urban infill initiative or a new community. Architecture grows out of the urban design for these communities. The growing environmental awareness of the general public has indeed created a demand for “smart growth” where compact and multi-use projects can support pedestrian engagement, plug into existing infrastructure and support transit use.

This sometimes has a preservation component and sometimes does not. High visibility mechanical and energy systems often seem to dominate the professional focus. LEED certification is indeed a recognized benchmark by the general public and increasingly, the public policy administrators. The emergence of a neighborhood design standard for this program will further entrench the LEED standard for performance. There is a fundamental connection between health, environmental conservation and protection and reduction of energy consumption that has been established in the consumer market. This now drives the approach to design and the evaluation of budgets and building performance.

Preservation does not seem to have achieved an equivalent status with new construction in the general market as a “sustainable” practice. The perception of new technologies and building performance, etc. tends to associate “green” with “new.” This is unfortunate, but not necessarily a given as we move forward. The embedded qualities of many traditional communities and buildings far outperform the current crop of performance-based buildings, which rely on intensive production of metals and composites with tremendous shipping distances and costs. We certainly need both, it is not “either or.”

It is interesting that the most innovative and desirable agricultural movements in this country have returned to more organic methods and processes with the aid of technology. This simpler, less energy intensive and less pollutant-laden approach speaks to the consumer on many fronts – we associate with a “back to the earth” movement, a family farm etc. It is more difficult to talk to the consumer about the benefits of high-tech, sophisticated manufacturing and production techniques and facilities. Traditional architecture and preservation need a campaign to reinforce the qualities and methods that reinforce these attributes of sustainability, building performance and public health. Additionally, we find a strong preference for reinforcing regional and local character. How do we design and build in a way that reflects the hallmark qualities of a particular place in a way that is an evolution of character based on the climate, culture and history of place.

We find that most of our clients do strive to reuse older buildings, and now a growing number are recycling materials from them if the building is not restored or renovated. Our approach to design is one that draws from an intensive survey of urban context, architecture, environment and the cultural influences that have shaped the sense of place. We are using this research to generate the next layer of architecture and urbanism that evolves within this time period. Rather than a complete break with tradition, we use tradition as the bridge to the future.

In cities like Norfolk, VA, where for more than 25 years we have worked with city leadership to reintroduce urbanism into the downtown and surrounding neighborhoods, traditional buildings are restored adjacent to new mixed-use buildings at a density that now allows for expanded light rail transit. The new Slover Library in downtown Norfolk will be a mix of restoration and renovation as well as new expansion to create a civic centerpiece that reflects an attitude of preservation and innovation.

Our work in Richmond, VA, with the Better Housing Coalition includes catalyst projects like Jefferson Mews, which combines new and restored housing in a compact, urban form to demonstrate the opportunities for reinvestment in the inner city. The core practice of recycling and reinvesting in existing infrastructure and buildings, institutions and neighborhoods, is still a strong message for the market. It just needs a little more voice in the marketplace of building performance, environmental responsiveness and sustainability in order to stick with the general public. TB

FEBRUARY 2009 » ROUNDTABLE