Introduction

Abstract

In a recent issue of Architecture Boston (AB), featuring the 2006 design awards, the jury’s comments for the category of Unbuilt Architecture stated that the text in almost every architectural submission referred to its sustainable content, typically citing green roofs, geothermal wells, and reuse of rainwater, as if these were boxes to be checked. These allusions indicate a growing awareness that sustainable buildings and landscapes are desirable, but little grasp of how this may affect design. This aspect of architectural thought remains remarkably lacking in material association or in appreciation of the quantitative aspects of energy flows, rainwater volume, or natural light and ventilation.¹

Architecture Boston, January/February, Awards Issue, pp 92