UFFELIN

Are Uffelin’s historical examples and attention to materials regarding environmentally friendly technology convincing?  

Yes, I think his historical examples are convincing.  He uses ancient examples from Renaissance and Baroque buildings which were dismantled and reused.  “The columns and capitols corresponded to the current tastes and the remaining materials were processed into building lime and cannonballs.”  Reuse is one of the most environmentally friendly things you can do.  Historically labor was cheaper than materials so it made it easier to reuse buidlings.  Unfortunately today, many times it is cheaper to not reuse materials due to the labor involved with dismantling and transporting materials.  Even so, there are corporations that see the benefit of reuse and are willing to invest in reusing/renovating an existing building for their office space.  We saw a couple case study presentations on the Mercy Corps headquarter and the Wieden Kennedy headquarter which are both renovations of existing buildings.  His more recent examples highlight current trends in sustainable building techniques: renewable materials, passive and active building systems, vertical gardens, photovaltaics, and double skin glazing systems.

Is sustainability put as a priority above style or structural function in the United States?  I think some designers use sustainability as a priority but they are the minority in the United States.  I think the architects pushing sustainability are using its elements to create a new style. Some of these elements are: vertical green walls, green roofs, photovaltaics, double skin glazing systems, and renewable materials. The Bullitt Center in Seattle which is supposed to be the most sustainable office building in the world is a product of this approach towards architecture.  It expresses the sustainable aspects of the project  as a way to create a new aesthetic.