[Greenbuilding] Greenbuilding and Univ of Michigan?

[Chris Green]

Rob Tom wrote:
> That being said, I recall the "usually dour" Bion Howard (a former  
> contributor to this List in the early days  http://www.energybuilder.com )  
> giving top Green marks to his alma mater, Univ. of Wisconsin at Madison.
>   
On a whim, I googled for "top Architecture Schools, Sustainable Design.
> The [University of Virginia's] School of Architecture is consistenly 
> ranked as one of the top US Architecture Schools 
> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Architecture_Schools> in an annual 
> survey by Design Intelligence. The survey, titled "America's Best 
> Architecture and Design Schools," ranked the school's graduate program 
> as 7th in the nation in 2005; 3rd in the nation in 2006, and 5th in 
> the nation in 2007. The survey has also ranked the school's Landscape 
> Architecture <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landscape_Architecture> 
> graduate program as 5th in the nation in 2006 and 6th in the nation in 
> 2007 (tied with Rhode Island School of Design 
> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhode_Island_School_of_Design>. 
> Additionally, the School of Architecture was ranked 1st in the nation 
> in the new 2007 category of Sustainable Design Practices.
Thomas Jefferson, the founder, would approve wholeheartedly, I believe.
Quote from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Virginia_School_of_Architecture
This is a growing school and there began a large expansion two years 
ago, almost to the day. (Sept.29th)
Overall, these are quite high rankings, considering the number of 
schools around (114 or more ), so this program is worth looking into.
(note to self: Is "Jeffersonian Architecture" a viable concept?)

In addition to that, I came across a page discussing a new program for 
architects called the "Master of Science in Architecture, Sustainable 
Design Track", which turns out to be offered by the School of 
Architecture at the U of Minnesota. This seems to more a post-graduate 
course, offered as part of a dual-degree track, or for people with 
accreditation in other fields who can convince the admissions committee 
they should take these courses.
http://arch.cdes.umn.edu/academic_programs/MS/MS_SD/admissions.html

Betterbricks.com has this:
> Architecture Schools Now Required to Teach Sustainable Design 
> <http://www.betterbricks.com/custom/popupframeset.aspx?pid=article&title=Architecture%20Schools%20Now%20Required%20to%20Teach%20Sustainable%20Design&typename=More%20Articles&URL=http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm?fileName=140403a.xml>
> The National Architectural Accrediting Board's (NAAB) most recent 
> revision to the “Conditions for Accreditation,” released in the second 
> half of 2004, includes a stand-alone provision for sustainable design.
from: *http://tinyurl.com/2656ay

*The link leads to a Greenbuilding.com page which requires a paid 
membership to access. You can get a one week membership.The article is 
from the Environmental Building News. However, the above headline tells 
most of us enough.

Before I end, a quote from a page at MIT:
*/_________
/*Our Buildings Ourselves
Confronting the Impact We Make.

If we acknowledge that buildings are waste-in-transit, how do our design 
methodologies change? Do we have to compromise aesthetics to achieve 
responsible design solutions? Can we design for a majority of citizens, 
not just a minority of patrons?

Course material teaches skills and thought processes applicable to 
integrated/whole building design with the end-goal of minimizing 
material and energy wastes, and conflicts of interests.

Readings, lectures, and projects encourage systemic thinking and 
interdisciplinary collaboration to make sustainable design a very real, 
everyday activity.*
/
/*Source:*/
/*http://web.mit.edu/~owilkins/www/Sustainability.html 
<http://web.mit.edu/%7Eowilkins/www/Sustainability.html>

I would expect that the instructors at these schools are under a lot of 
pressure trying to come to terms with the whole concept of 
'sustainability.' That's understandable, since many of the older 
instructors will have spent their careers extolling the interplay of 
light and atmosphere and how this is supposed to make us more productive 
proletariat worker units*, and now they're experiencing a tsunami-like 
paradigm shift which doesn't seem to have an end.
So, a student who wants to excel in the field of sustainable 
architectural design should be prepared to put a lot of effort into 
teaching themselves and (as Rob Tom implied ) to apply the art and 
skills of critical thinking. Critical, in this case, being defined as: 
"characterized by careful evaluation and judgment."


Cheers,

Chris Green.

*A little nod to Tom Wolfe and his book, From Bauhaus to Our House, 
which I found as being one of the most hilarious books I've read. 21 
years old, but still highly recommended.


*//*