Fast forward two years: During the New Orleans Convention, We attended a class called “the Ethics of Sustainability”, and it appears that the debate ontinues. This seminar was presented by 3 professionals that were advocating making sustainability part of the canon of the AIA. By doing this, we – as a profession – would have the opportunity to reprimand any member who was responsible for a building that was deemed less than sustainable. I have to tell you that it is the first seminar I’d been to where I thought the participants might consider piling the chairs in the middle of the room to light on fire. To say that there was concern would be an understatement. The chilling response from the presenter was, “We are just the messengers; there are several people (apparently not in this room) who feel this proposal is too soft.”

The responses and retorts in the room expressed feelings of frustration sourced in the economy and the rapidly changing rules of which architects are judged and the costs of projects are built on. At the front line, architects are defending designs and costs of designs, which are based on rules that have the USGBC in court defending. The current case is discussing allegations of defrauding those involved in building projects via the LEED system and its claims of cost and efficiency.

From a very practical and pragmatic client viewpoint, I talked with David Browning (the vice president and Chief Sustainability Officer at El Centro College in Dallas, Texas) after this seminar. As a typical consumer of Architectural design, he had some interesting insights. His community college has just completed $500 million dollars of campus buildings throughout the Dallas Metroplex. The most expensive building to maintain (per square foot) is their one platinum LEED building. He also noted that one of their campuses is locked in by freeways, with no hope of getting bikes to the campus (short of transporting it by car), and yet they have bike racks and showers for bicyclists. Not because it was the right thing to do, but because it got the project points. On the other hand, he invited me to consider the “what if” scenario his team is considering for their urban windmill farm that they are proving out in Dallas (http://www.vimeo.com/dcccd ).

Mr. Browning noted to me as we finished our conversation that he was preparing for talk in September at the national conference for community college business officers titled “Is sustainability sustainable?” In that presentation he will be noting both good and bad impacts from the LEED rating system. His point will be that it appears to him and several of his colleagues that “Sustainability has many good points; it’s usually, in the end, the right thing to do. But when it’s tied to proven failed political agendas like socialism, communism and the redistribution of wealth, it will only cause Sustainability to fail aswell.” Jumping back to the 2009 editorial, they quote Thomas Freidman (author of The World is Flat).

Ironically, Mr. Freidman was the key note speaker in New Orleans (now the author of Hot, Flat and Crowded). In the article he notes that American companies and architects are missing the biggest business opportunity out there. His driving point was that even if there was debate over the climate issue (the “Hot” from his book title), there is no doubt that the economy is more “Flat”, in that American workers are more directly competing with world workers for jobs. Further, those workers are pushing for “American lifestyles”, which is resulting in “Manhattans” popping up from Dubai to China which – in his estimation – will require 6 earths worth of resources to build (the “Crowded” from his book title). Supporting Mr. Freidman’s comments, Architecture Magazine also carried an article by Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson’s wrote an article “Shaky Foundation”, which notes that we – as a nation – are dangerously low in the R&D tank. In New Orleans, Mr. Freidman noted that Americans must be willing to invest in things like infrastructure, education, immigration and the environment. By taking ownership of our actions and sacrificing in order to achieve our higher goals, we can ensure our country will be a truly exceptional place to live for generations to come.

To get on the road to an optimistic future, we have to consider how we got to the marsh we seem to be standing in. Today and in our current events memory, we see increasing irresponsibility from Enron to Political Pork, and we seem content in our frustration as we subscribe to levels of “group-speak” that ensure that we can’t talk to one another because the pundit you listen to doesn’t agree with mine. We need get away from reacting out of fear and control or a “not my table” attitude and approach the world with a sense of wonder and a search for its inherent design.

Freidman’s next book title is That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World it Invented and How We Find Our Way Back (due out this September). The title is a sad testimony that we don’t seem to be considering his warnings from his previous two books. If we don’t take in all 3 components (the environment, the open economy and the people) into consideration, arguing about the “The Ethics of Sustainability” will be like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

America used to be “the shining light of freedom”, and the source of innovation. Now it seems we only get off the coach if there is a consumption opportunity for us. In the mean time the rest of the world seems to be dusting off our spirit of innovation and work ethic and running circles around our la-Z-boy. We need to get back on the road. If we string together the thoughts above from New Orleans, Freidman and Dickenson’s comments and our current economic and environmental climate, we architects (read that problem solvers, solution finders, around-the-corner lookers) can roll up our sleeves, get together with manufacturers and work on new R&D, get together with Cities & States and help them see the detriments that we see coming up. We can talk to clients and schools and businesses and note that we must as a country, as a culture, and a world consider not just the problems, but the opportunities.

Mr. Browning likes the idea of Sustainability (he is their Chief Sustainability Officer), but not the paid for points system. Mr. Friedman thinks we are missing the opportunity of a life time in terms of manufacturing, and Ms. Evitts Dickinson says we aren’t going to be ready with green products when the Green legislation got passed. How do we take all three concerns and make something wonderful? How do we “wow” the world? In our schooling, we all learned similar tenets: Design for the right

solution, protect people, protect plants and animals and protect the overall environment. In doing that, we should be our own best Devil’s advocates. Let’s not accept our first conclusion and let’s look for opportunities to help the environment without having to penalize our clients. If you will, there would be no need for LEED if we were already coming up with great solutions on our own. We should be driving the bus, not being drug by it.

If we accept we are problem solvers at heart, then here is a doosie: filter what has been suggested as green but is really snake oil, develop solutions that don’t necessary add to the cost of the building, or can be mass produced and brought to the world market as soon as possible, and – for goodness sake – don’t put a shower in just because it wins points!

Touring the Vieux Carre (or “Old Square”) homes of the French quarter was fascinating. Homes built with heavy direct Spanish, French and the “new” American Federalist influences where beautiful, and had the spice of the back-story of Sicilian and Italian rivalries that ruled the streets for a time. One house is famous for hosting a dinner between an Italian family and the Sicilian run mob. The premise of the dinner was to smooth over the strife with the mob, and instead the family rose at the end of the meal and shot the Sicilians sitting at their table! There’s a mess to clean up!!

I note this story not just for the “spice” but also for the “spirit”. Many of the people I met coming from out of town wanted to get a sense of whether the City had recovered from Katrina. It appears that the residents and the city itself were proud of the fact that they had come back from one of the greatest catastrophes in the history of our nation. Come back, feeling relaxed and ready to play blues and jazz into the wee hours of the morning. It certainly made the next morning’s run shorter and harder.

From a professional level, there were many statements made to speak to the state of our profession and its interaction with the public. Lawrence Speck FAIA, who was named the recipient of the 2011 AIA/ACSA Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architectural Education at the convention, had some insightful encouragements. He reminded us that no one can live any part of their lives without being involved in architecture. That said, he noted that our culture is sadly ignorant of architecture, and encouraged us to be advocates with our words and our work. To engage at any level we can, to be accessible with the bent to turn that ship around.

Throughout the week, there were many signs, stickers, and T-shirts encourage us to “be a New Orleanian wherever you are”, to consider our global connection locally. The “Big Easy” was not about everything being easy, but about living life despite the difficulties of the day.

Considering the state of our own economy in the once Golden State, and the impact that has had on our design and construction industry, I can’t help but reflect on the New Orleans’s mixed attitude of ease and tenacity. Like Katrina, the state of this economy feels like a focused punch in the mouth. We can’t control that. What we can control is our reaction to it. We can, if I can steal the phrase, “be a New Orleanian” where we stand: set our jaw and bring our solutions, our insights, our encouragements, our “spice” to schools, to chamber meetings, to clients offices. If the economy wants to stall, fine. But that won’t kill us. It might, in fact, make us stronger. Like the “make it right” homes in the lower 9th stand as new standard in response to the past disaster, I really look forward to see how we, as architects, respond in the remaking of our businesses and move to not just be part of the solution, but to lead the way.

The owner charged us to take this eclectic look and to create a higher level restaurant serving 3 meals. We also had to incorporate the parking garage entrance plinth in the hub of the raw space. We referenced Norman Rockwell’s Diners; we took inspiration from the Pico checkerboard VCT and wall paper, and replaced that with Acrylic rail inserts and Italian tile. We added period ceilings, lights and fans, and using the change in elevation, we created rooms without walls that are distinct and comfortable. We also expanded outside to create a delightful dining patio.

The client is very happy, and has long lines on Saturday and Sunday mornings!

In design conversations, we talked about intriguing crossover design issues between building and automotive design, noting the dynamic qualities that sound and movement bring to the beauty of cars, which rarely are included in buildings. We talked about Mark Tansey’s Painting “Action Painting” (1981), and how it captures the speed and catastrophe in a frozen snapshot. We ended that discussion talking about Ferraris and all concluded that the early 50’s Testarosa was the favorite, in terms of its aesthetics.

In our design we incorporated those conversations into our design: the rain-screen panels are shaped to mimic the vent panel on a ’56 410 Superamerica. The rain screen panels will be 4 different shades of silver, which will give the illusion the panels are moving or shaking from the engine vibration.
The ancillary garage that replaces the carport is translucent, and the structure is a simple steel frame, allowing the garage to “glow” during sunsets, or when inside lights are on after dusk.

The “clouds” are zinc forms that mimic the curves, shape and color of the test cars of the early years.
Lastly, the butterfly roof lifts up to look under the hood, or out to the road: you make the choice.

California tiles, stucco and a steel trellis that references timber trellises give a brighter face to this building.

To expand on an existing successful business model, the market research client requested concepts to entice a variety of companies to participate in the front end of a market research focus group facility. The concept was split into two parts. The front was to be a “museum of the new”, that would allow businesses to celebrate and test their latest inventions. The back area was a group of standard focus group rooms to allow the client’s staff to conduct market research for their participating clientele.

The City requested a community center with ultimate flexibility, yet with finishes appropriate for a prison. Additionally, the exterior finishes had to match the adjacent raw concrete and steel baseball grandstands. Contrary to the finishes, the program called for pre-kindergarten and pre-teen classes during the day, adult dance and movement classes at night, and the ability to use the majority of the footprint for events such as a weekend family movie nights. In consideration of the end-users and in fulfillment of the program, Reveal Studio, Inc. developed an Interior multi-colored Trespa panel wall-system, a movable partition dividing the 2 classrooms that can open completely for larger functions. While the exterior wall materials were concrete, standing seam metal roofing and steel details, Formliners and barrel-vaulted roof profiles were used to soften the look of the building. The San Fernando Valley Chapter of the AIA awarded it the Best Community Development award in ‘06

Dating from the 1920’s, this 3500-seat auditorium with one of the few free-spanning domes in Southern California and is on the national historic registry for the events surrounding the birth of the Foursquare Gospel church, which occurred in this area in the early part of the 20th century. It was suffering from earthquake damage and disrepair and the local congregation had dwindled to less than 100. The denomination decided to re-establish not only the building, but also the effectiveness of its local social outreach. From 1996 until 2002, the repair and reorganization took place, ultimately teaming up with the Dream Center in Los Angeles. Reveal Studio not only did the renovation design, but also worked hand-in-hand with the Dream Center to develop appropriate design solutions to facilitate their modern equipment and their progressive inner city ministries.

The owners of this small shadowed hillside home in Pasadena needed to improve the natural lighting and add a garage and additional rooms. The challenge of the project was to overlay the owners’ needs, the hillside requirements, as well as the City’s zoning constraints to develop a cohesive solution. That solution was to capture light by going up rather than out.

The program called for Artist-in-Residence row houses to span across three adjacent hillside lots with a less than desirable view of an unsightly thoroughfare in Silverlake, California. The budget was tight and the program requested maximized light and minimized view to the boulevard. The solution was to build row houses over the underground parking with prefabricated “A” and “B” shells, which alternate along the façade. The light towers bounce light into the interior and defusing the view forward. An intermediate split provides semi-private decks and the roof provides additional flat space in this hillside area. The shells and towers work together to create a changing appearance as the light changes throughout the day and night.

This beach cottage was purchased in rundown state, but has a phenomenal view of the Pacific from Dana Point to the South. The desire was to renovate and enlarge the existing house. In consideration of the local environment, the existing roof was removed and replaced with an inverted truss. The new flat roof provides a viewing deck, while underneath the “reverse pitched” ceiling captures ample ventilation and natural light. The up-lit spiral stair has translucent stair treads with cast-in reeds. The South window wall can be completely opened and stored to the side to allow ocean breezes and the incredible view to pervade the house.

While the existing house is a 1960’s non-descript 1400 sf bungalow, the view looking north from this site includes the Pacific Ocean, the Hollywood Sign, Century City and Downtown LA from the south. This design blends redwood siding with bronze detailing, a zinc standing seam roofing and field stone wainscoting. A west-facing clerestory in the barrel-vaulted roof and a bank of windows to the North bring in light & vistas.

The Rapids is an 11,000 square foot building of 5 loft apartments and a parking garage providing a double car parking lift for each unit. There are powerful views and tough constraints on a tight site next to the Platte River in the LODO area of Denver. The lot was bound on the East by the Platte River, on the North by the 19th street pedestrian bridge, on the West by the street, parkway and freeway and on the South by a neighboring building and abandoned rail spur. A market requirement for high-end finish pitted against the rising market construction costs and tight layout constraints threatened the project’s existence. In response, Reveal Studio provided four variations of the building so that flexibility, material options and value engineering could be explored. The ultimate conclusion will likely be a blend of the options, which we will update on this site as construction documents and actual construction progress through the spring and summer of ’06.