Hasta La Ideas

We received a number of emails and comments on our post back in January wherein we wrote about Alec Appelbaum‘s Fast Company piece on the growing backlash against LEED certification. While long-perceived as the Earth-saving solution to building, the eco-friendly veneer has been tarnished somewhat over the past couple of years, with some saying the imposed LEED building codes “are producing dud buildings and that taxpayers are footing the bill through subsidies” and that the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) behind all of it often muscles its certification demands into developments of all kinds. And now another, new complaint has surfaced, this time involving U2 guitarist, The Edge. As the AP reports, the musician has plans to “build a cluster of mansions overlooking the Pacific Ocean” in Malibu, California. While he’s sought extra-green LEED-certification for each of the houses (“averaging 10,500-square feet each”), critics have complained that this is the sort of invasive development that the USGBC should be trying to stop before anyone even starts thinking about how green the new buildings will be. In its own defense, the Council says it doesn’t have the authority to tell people what private properties they can and can’t build on, as that’s an issue for local government. However, it does have the ability to lean on the system when it believes a project risks jeopardizing the environment, something critics of The Edge’s development don’t think the organization is doing enough of. As of now, the project is at a standstill, awaiting a decision from California Coastal Commission sometime over the next two months. In the mean time, those opposed will continue to fight, the development’s site will likely get more defensive than it already is (surprisingly so, we think), and either a lot of green houses will be built or nature will stay nature. Here’s video of the project:

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After last month’s unexpected and slightly painful fall, the American Institute of Architects‘ Architecture Billings Index has now rebounded and is heading in a more positive direction, albeit very slightly. Though February’s dip only took the Index down to 50, meaning the industry average was having little if any growth (anything above 50 means growth in demand for architectural and building services), it perhaps lessened the blow a bit by at least not signaling another decline. Now the number is up less than a full point, up to just 50.6. That’s not to the 54.2 high it reached back in January, but anything moving upward is good at this point. Here’s a bit from the AIA’s ever rational realist, keeping it short this month:

“Overall demand for design services seems to be treading water over the last two months,” said AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker. “We still expect the road to recovery to move at a slow, but steady pace.”

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This fall, you might recall that the UK suffered some serious blows in their design and architecture industries with nationwide cuts that removed a large portion of funding for the industrial design-focused Design Council, forcing them to become a non-profit instead of a government entity, and it looked like certain death for one of the country’s primary architecture, urban design and public space advisory bodies, the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (you might also recall Prince Charles‘ Foundation for the Built Environment offering to step in, which struck some critics the wrong way). However, with those gloomy days behind us, an interesting turn of events recently, as the Design Council and the CABE have decided to try merging, becoming one larger operation that a source told Building would be a “one-stop shop for design, with expertise on buildings, products, places and services under one roof.” While not yet set in stone, as the merger will need to go through government channels (the Design Council was still set to receive some funding from the UK’s coffers), it appears as though it has a good chance of making it through.

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The conversation is still going full-bore surrounding last week’s controversial move by the Smithsonian when they pulled a piece by David Wojnarowicz from a National Portrait Gallery exhibition following outcry from several groups who believed it was anti-Christian. Two large museum groups have entered the fray, the Association of Art Museum Directors, who issued a statement (pdf) chiding the Smithsonian for bowing to these outside pressures, and the American Association of Museums, who went the other direction and also issued a brief statement on their site, saying they stand by the museum’s decision. Later their president, Ford Bell, told the Washington Post, “We concur that it should not distract from the other thoughtful and provocative work in this important exhibition. However, we regret the controversy surrounding the excellent show.” That quote appears in a larger piece about the on-going controversy, which includes information on last Thursday night’s protest put together by the Transformer Gallery, who had gotten permission to show Wojnarowicz’s piece after it had been booted from the National Portrait Gallery. The gallery’s site has a great deal more information about the protest, as well as a few photos and video of the event, as well as a statement of their own to the Smithsonian. Here’s a portion of the message from the Association of Art Museum Directors:

The AAMD believes that freedom of expression is essential to the health and welfare of our communities and our nation. In this case, that takes the form of the rights and opportunities of art museums to present works of art that express different points of view.

Discouraging the exchange of ideas undermines the principles of freedom of expression, plurality and tolerance on which our nation was founded. This includes the forcible withdrawal of a work of art from within an exhibition—and the threatening of an institution’s funding sources.

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An interesting piece of juicy talk concerning the American Institute of Architects lately, and this time completely unrelated to either Kermit Baker or the always sexy Billings Index. Story goes is that the AIA has decided to suspend Montana-based architect Donald Briggs after it was learned that he had been having an affair with one of his clients. If that weren’t enough. the husband of the affairing-woman was also upset at the cost overruns during the new house design/building they’d hired Briggs for, particularly because he’d largely only spoken about the details about the project to his wife. The AIA determined that Briggs’ conduct had violated the rules of their Code of Ethics, given that said affair might have “affected his professional judgment while rendering professional services” and thus, his membership has been suspended for two years. Although this doesn’t have any baring on Briggs’ license to practice architecture, who knows what the effect on his business will be without that AIA affiliation. The whole case has drummed up some interesting debate over at Archinect‘s forums, with readers offering opinions from both sides, all under the forum’s title “The Farnsworth Days Are Over.”

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