Malcolm Wells was an early supporter of taking architecture into a more green way of thinking.. Starting back in the 60’s he experimented with various ways of building without harming the surrounding world.. From energy conservation to soil preservation to water conservation.. His book, Gentle Architecture (1984) Powell’s Books, was something that I picked up when I was studying Architecture at the University of New Mexico.. (BA Architecture 1994)..

I picked the up the book again because it has been a long time since I’ve done anything with my degree and we’ve been talking about building a new house.. And if I am going to build a new house I want to do everything I can to make it the best house I can in every way possible..

I was surprised at how little I remembered from reading this book more than 12 years ago.. A lot of it seems like common sense today, but so much more of it seems like we have made almost no progress in that time.. From massive paving projects to green spaces that aren’t really green at all, we seem to have been stagnant in the field of architecture on any grand scale.. Yes, the tree huggers are going to say, See, I told you so, but there has always been the need to strike a balance between conservation and use.. And while I like a lot of what Malcom has to say, I find a lot of it preachy at best..

It is possible to be environmentally considerate without being an extremist.. I just wonder how much of this I can put into effect on our house project..

~Fey