Upon returning from the charrette I found I had a unique challenge: Developing a succinct summarization of what occurred, what we did, how we spent our time, the fruits of our labors, etc ; what I found was that no sound bite summarization did the charrette justice or fully grasped the breadth of territory covered. I simply could not convey to my audience who ever it may be (mostly my colleagues around the office) the experience

Do you now have a different understanding of the core question that you submitted prior to the workshop?

Definitely. My core question was At its core, sustainability is a way of thinking. What new modes of thinking and new thought processes (beyond mere metrics and indices) can help it take shape?

I think that my core question was directly addressed and I have an understanding of what possible answers may be. I think that during the workshop we were generating and creating new modes of the thinking and new thought processes that will move us beyond the current bounds of sustainable design.

What thoughts do you have now about expanding the approach to sustainable design, and/or the changes needed in the industry?

Beyond buildings: A change in the language framework, moving away from thinking of sustainable buildings, which are constructed out of materials and towards the idea of the built environment. The built environment is something less tangible than just a building and includes the consideration of place and community, and the association with a place and an environment. Also, I think when we consider an environment we are more inclined to think of an integrated, interrelated system than a standalone structure. Rather than people design buildings for people to work in, we are designing a built environment; the built environment may include buildings but it is much more that the materials it is made out of.

Industry: At one point during the charrette, someone made the comment or it was written down (it was in my notes that’s all I know!) that our industry is the oddest industry and then listed: * no Research and Development * no total quality management * no feed back loops * no “return” capability * no accountability * no vertical integration

So my one thought is that maybe there are two paradigm shifts that need to occur: an internal paradigm shift and an external one. It’s not an us and them, because I think that the two shifts would be fundamentally different. The internal industry paradigm shift is looking to move away from a loosely organized movement or organization into an integrated business industry with all the associated components: marketing, R&D, products/services, leadership, checks and balances, along with the requisite quality management, feed back loops and vertical integration. The external paradigm shift on the other hand is one towards sustainable built environments.

The way I look at it, which may be somewhat simplistic, is that information and data supporting the need for sustainable design has been written on the walls for all to see, but it is covered by layers of placards from Esso, Shell, BP, “Clean” coal, developers, GM, Ford, Honda, Pepsi, Coke, etc. and people are not focused on the message.

I think that sustainability is a combination of products and services to sell, but we haven’t been able to reach people to tell them about how great and important it is. Maybe if the industry was organized in a structure similar to our competition we could effectively work to get the message out. I’m going to take my thoughts one step further: This is a struggle against a culture that is driven by market forces and business; fight fire with fire, and turn what is still widely classified as a movement; read radical, fringe, unusual, into an established, reputable and known business.

I saw a strange thing the other day: Microsoft running an advertisement on the television for Windows. With over 80% of the PC market share, they are still getting worried about Linux, and perhaps even Apple too. Linux, an open source code that is adaptable, customizable; simply put: to a lot of people it makes sense. Wouldn’t it be great one day to see Shell running an add telling you why you should still buy gas. Can the sustainable design business become the next Linux?

Did you come away with any practical measures that you may be able to implement in your projects? Suggestion that we could be sharing with others?

I’m still working on this one. I think the short answer is yes, I do see potential for the practical applications, but I haven’t had a chance to sort though them and implement it for a specific project. As member of the border station team, we will be working to incorporate practical applications. I also hope to do try and apply the measures developed at the workshop to a LEED platinum building I am working on; the owners are looking to push beyond the bounds of LEED and achieve a sustainable built environment that can be a model for others. My plan at present is to examine some past projects in preparation for a presentation at a local university to see how the ideas/principles that were floating around during the workshop can be anchored to built projects. I hope that this will lead to exploring the application for future projects.

Do you have a new understanding of things that you have already been doing along these lines?

I think I achieved an understanding of how the design practices I have been taught, developed and use on a daily basis can be expressed within a set language framework. It was understanding the influence that mental modes, critical thinking and interdisciplinary relationships (to name a few) have on the built environment; most were already an innate part of the design practices that I use daily, and there were also a few new ones that I didn’t think about or need to work on.

I believe that unless you really understand and know a thing you cannot teach it; you will not be able to adapt your teaching approach to fit your student/audience. So for me, being able to identify these different factors was an important part of understanding how to move sustainable design strategies forward, and just as importantly pass it on to others.