MIT Sues Gehry, Green Certifications, Changing Design, + Paying for Green (WIR)

• MIT alleges design flaws in Frank Gehry building.
• Nationwide ratings and certifications proliferate for 'green' builders.
• Green movement is changing design.
• Green building for the rest of us: how a good idea can make it into mainstream.
• Portland Oregon will pay green builders to build more efficient homes.
• Chicago strives to be greenest city in U.S.

Comments

[Lee]

In the MIT case there is a lesson to be learned by aspiring and practicing architects, in that a structure must be not only asthetically pleasing but also practical and able to stand up to everyday real-world conditions. As I recall this was also a common complaint against Frank Lloyd Wright; that his buildings often had problems due to leaks. The building materials of the time were not always able to meet the demands placed on them by Wright's designs.

[Lisa Galley]

Good news roundup. A couple of comments on the 'multiple certifications' story from the WSJ: The story was, in my view, a cut and paste, that supposedly compared ratings systems. In my view, it should have focused on comparing actual environmental and financial outcomes for the homeowners, as opposed to just the estimated 'additional' costs of certification. Another point that most readers should have been told is that the groups promoting the various rating systems have very different membership makeup: USGBC is made up from professionals from many areas of green building, while NAHB membership (and its focus and interests) are more narrow.