Ecorazzi

In a new article appearing in House & Garden magazine, Prince Charles decries the new aesthetics of green architecture and says that such “radical nature of the design” is unnecessary. Here’s a bit highlight:

‘It would seem, however, that the emergent climate-change agenda seems to have offered license to another generation of architects and designers bent on further divorcing us – through random and untested building shapes and types – from our deeply-rooted connection with Nature’s ordering systems which remain true to the rule of climate and season.

‘Why, I must ask, does being “green” mean building with glass and steel and concrete and then adding wind turbines, solar panels, water heaters, glass atria – all the paraphernalia of a new “green building industry” – to offset buildings that are inefficient in the first place?

‘That many of these add-ons are mere gestures, at best, is now clear, as their impacts on home energy consumption can now be measured and usually offer scant justification for the radical nature of the design.’

‘We must act now by using traditional methods and materials to work with Nature rather than against Her,’ he says, adding: ‘We need to resist the urge to seize on slick, highly marketed techno-fixes.’

The Prince is definitely on to something — but to many, green building is new and different. There’s nothing wrong with showing it off, but we definitely need to temper our enthusiasm a bit in favor of showing that we can also use natural materials — like strawbale, cob — for more effective results.