Sustainability History Project

There’s an intriguing documentary premier upcoming:

Movie description:

Over the next 20 years, Americans will demolish one third of our existing building stock (over 82 billion square feet) in order to replace seemingly inefficient buildings with energy efficient “green” buildings.

Is demolition in the name of sustainability really the best use of natural, social, and economic resources? Or, like the urban renewal programs of the 1960’s, will this well-intentioned planning result in devastating environmental and cultural consequences?

Through five prototype projects, ranging in scope from a tenant improvement, to a Main Street America project to a highly successful renovation of one of Boston’s (and America’s) finest Richardsonian Romanesque churches, “The Greenest Building” explores the myth that a “green building” is necessarily a new building and demonstrates how renovation and adaptive reuse of existing structures fully achieves the sustainability movement’s “triple bottom line” – economic, social, and ecological balance. These prototypes reveal: (a) how reuse and reinvestment in the existing built environment leads to stronger local economies that can compete on a global scale, (b) that sense of place and collective memory, while intangible, are critical components of strong sustainable communities, and (c) the direct correlation between reuse of existing buildings and a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, degradation of the natural environment and overuse of precious natural resources.

“The Greenest Building” aims to incite change in the way Americans see their own geographic communities. With a focus on the partnership between the built environment and the natural environment, the film promotes a better understanding of the symbiotic relationship between reuse of buildings and the conservation of natural systems that sustain life.

(see the Natural Step event announcement, and the EventBrite event announcement.)

For students interested in these issues, I will offer extra credit this quarter for those who view this film, reflect on the experience in class, and provide a brief write-up for the SHP website — see the Extra-credit Guidelines page for full criteria.

As always, anyone not in the course this quarter is also more than welcome to comment and reflect upon the event.

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