Mother Earth…The “Independent” Candidate
Editorial By: Timothy Boe, NCARB, AIA 

In recent times most of the civilized world has come to agree that the fragile eco-system of our planet has been violated. How she will recover from this toxic indiscretion is largely left up to us. After years of intellectual and partisan political disagreement it has come to be acknowledged in varying degrees that the damage is due to the presence of our civilization and it’s unawareness of the damage being inflicted. Some contend that the footprint of man is the primary cause…others concur… but only to a lesser degree. In either event…both agree that we are at cause and therein lies our salvation. If we initiated the damage in the first place, then we can surely be a factor in the restoration.

Thankfully Mother Nature is wondrously resilient in her self-healing capabilities. This is clearly evident in the microcosm of humankind. Once the cause of an affliction is removed and the necessary repairs made, the human body has demonstrated amazing restorative powers. As quantum physics has recently attested…adding credence to what the mystics have been saying for thousands of years…everything is literally one and the same thing. In this we may take solace, because if human bodies can heal, so too can our planet.

If a person falls and breaks a leg they go see a doctor. The doctor puts the bone back in place and if it is not further disturbed it will by some unknown process mend itself back together. This mysterious phenomenon is referred to by many names. For the purpose of this article, let’s just call it the “Nature” of things.

We as a civilization have recently been made aware that there is a patient in dire need of our care. Ironically we are in all actuality a very real extension of what that patient “is.” Accordingly, and in a very real sense what we are being asked to do is to heal ourselves. Before we can begin this process however we must first cease doing the damage to our collective selves and then join together as a people so that we may express our inherent holistic nature. One of the great epiphanies being offered as a gift by our Mother Earth if we will only hear her message is that there really is no truth in duality. We are one People…we are one Earth.

In examining the range of causes that contribute to the affliction currently being experienced by our planet, the construction of our built environment is high on the list. This does not necessarily mean that building communities and erecting structures is an inherently bad thing…it simply means that it must be done wisely and with respect for the impacts that are reverberating from such activity. Should thoughtful care be taken there is ample reason to believe that our civilization may enjoy the fruits of creative planning and design as our society lives in harmony with the natural environment.

As an architect I personally feel a mixture of exhilaration at being in a position to immediately effect positive change, while at the same time sensing an apprehension at the prospect of moving into uncharted waters. Interestingly enough this feeling of pause stems not from any doubt that the design Profession is capable of coming up with the appropriate answers, but rather from concern that our political infrastructure may not be set up in such a way as to accommodate the changes that such answers might bring.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) acknowledges that half of today’s global warming greenhouse gasses come from buildings. The AIA is also calling for immediate action by the building sector and they have adopted an “Architecture 2030” plan which would call for the reduction of new building energy consumption by 90% by the year 2030. This same plan also calls for a net zero level of greenhouse gas emissions by 2035. At the same time the President’s 2006 Solar America Initiative calls for architects and builders to design and construct new zero energy buildings by the year 2015.

As good as these measures may sound, one may still be left wondering whether our lawmakers will be poised to do their part in helping to achieve those goals. With only a matter of weeks left before the election of a new US President, partisan sniping is in evidence on every front. This past week what has been referred to as a piece of “landmark” legislation was adopted that will provide $700 billion for a collapsing banking industry…but not without epic levels of posturing and finger pointing by our Elected Officials. Congress blames the administration and they point back. I as a citizen can’t help but to wonder how one branch of our government could claim to be so oblivious to what the other branch has been doing.

Are we being asked as a people to believe that the recently exposed corruption and excess on Wall Street could run rampant while an entire half of our government represented by one or the other of the political parties might not have been aware of it? Consider for a moment the implications of the statements currently coming out of Washington DC. If either party is responsible for the financial mess then aren’t both parties just as culpable? I think it’s fair to say that not a pin drops in the corridors of power that does not resound throughout all of Capitol Hill.

The very least that the American people should expect of our elected officials is that in times of crises they can set partisanship aside and work as a cohesive whole. Yet it seems that both parties need to be reminded that this crisis should be embraced as an opportunity to demonstrate to the American people how government can rally to the problem and act as a cohesive whole in a time of emergency. Too often this predicament which has effected the lives of millions of people has been used as a political “soapbox” from which to shout out blame in the direction of the other party.

Architecture is a process involving the activity of design…which taps into creativity…which can lead to innovation. Laws…such as in the laws of physics are embraced in architecture. Physical laws describe the boundaries in which the play of creativity dwells. These laws are reliable…infallible and therefore may be trusted. Architecture, design, innovation, creativity…all require a venture into the realm of the unproven…resulting in concepts that return to anchor themselves in those laws which are known. This process is critical to acknowledge as it describes both innovation and invention, which ultimately will lead to answers as to how the Building Profession will be able to attain the lofty goals being mandated by our ailing Planet.

The “Laws of Man” however are the product of a different process. Well meaning in that they are intended to protect, they mostly rely on precedent set by previous laws. Out of the recognition that these previous examples may not be appropriate for a current application, the door is opened to subjectivity. Enter the concept of a judge…someone to interpret precedent in search of a current truth, or justice. To the degree that adherance to the past rules the day, innovation and creativity recede. This is for the best…no one wants to stand before a “creative” judge. Yet if you look at the laws that have been spun around the building profession it’s easy to see that architect, developer and builder alike have been hamstrung by laws created by others from outside the profession.

The conundrum in this situation is that the building profession as a whole has now been handed the baton and told to run hard for the finish line. Research on climate change indicates that the clock is rapidly ticking down…unaffected by the ongoing debates in the Capitols of our country. Lawmakers in the meantime will need to expedite their process in order to keep up with and facilitate any meaningful progress. They’ll never be able to do that if they treat the situation like a one legged race…both parties will need to work as a team in the quest of bi-partisan solutions.

The concept of sustainable design is deeply rooted in the canons of teamwork. The fundamental principals call for every participant…architect, client, engineers, builder, etc to work together from start to finish. Even the garnering of points in the LEED system (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) requires involvement of the LEED advocate all the way through the project from beginning to end. I would suggest that this process on the larger scale should be expanded to include lawmakers as well. The design profession should not be left petitioning for the attention of elected officials as if they were lobbyists huddled outside their door. They should be invited in and given an integral part of the lawmaking decision process as it relates to sustainable design legislation.

How many lawmakers really know what it looks like to take a building project from A to Z? Those who do might ask what incentive the profession has to try new and promising green systems and solutions that have not yet been tested over time and shown as being “bulletproof” to litigation? While other artists enjoy a lifetime of residuals from their creative products, architects look forward to ten years of liability. How can this anomaly be balanced in a society that is demanding new creative solutions to the verifiable global problems that currently exist? What protection from frivolous lawsuits can be expected as “smart” community planning calls for mixed uses, higher density urban cores…all leading to the inevitability of homeowner associations? On which side of the issue were the lawmakers when the excesses of frivolous and expensive litigation drove the cost of a solution to “affordable housing” in the form of attached home ownership beyond the realm of affordability?

A building project starts out as an idea…a vision. After being articulated by the design team it then begins it’s long journey down the gauntlet of committees, review by municipal bodies, etc. At any stop along the way the project may implode for any number of reasons. One of the great “project stoppers” is the inclusion of new technology, assemblies and systems. Yet ironically it is in these new innovations that the real long term hope for sustainable solutions resides.

Throughout this political season there have been frequent references to the importance of this particular election. From the environmentalist’s perspective this may be true. I would prefer to use the word “is” in this context, but if it is true I believe that it will be so because of the increased awareness by the American people regarding the folly of excessive partisanship. This country was surely not founded on the premise of two political factions constantly waging war within our borders. The green movement calls for a return to a basic core wisdom…a more efficient and responsive government requires a recognition of the same virtue.

There is currently a lot of work to be done in order to rectify the damage sustained in the past century by our eco-system. The headlong charge encouraged by the Industrial Revolution has been identified as one of the main culprits in the unwitting assassination attempt on Mother Earth. As we collectively scramble to consolidate today’s progress with planetary concerns, let’s not forget that politics as we know it was largely forged during that same past period of time. 

Now that we rally to take her out of “harms way” let’s turn to the example of Mother Earth as a healing presence and apply those lessons to the task at hand. This period may yet go down in history as an historical time, as well as an important election year. If we as a people are able to assimilate the lessons of the past to be used as stepping stones to the future it may also mark a time when we ceased thinking of ourselves as two countries and began to operate as one. 

Timothy Boe is an architect and founder of BOE ALLIANCE INTERNATIONAL. With almost forty years of experience in the design and building industry, Mr. Boe brings a vast knowledge of numerous building types, as well as a considerable body of experience in urban design and planned communities. During his long career, Mr. Boe has been involved in numerous environmentally related projects, including several that have been bestowed awards for thoughtful re-use of “brownfield” properties, innovative planning solutions and adaptive re-use of properties involving lead base paint, asbestos abatement, site clean-up, wetlands enhancements and the creation of wildlife sanctuaries for threatened species. Mr. Boe has also served continuously since 1989 on the Board of Directors for Windwalker International… a sustainable alternative energy company.