On April 14th, 2010, I gave the closing keynote at the Municipal Green Building Conference and Expo, help by the US Green Building Council’s LA Chapter, and SoCal Gas Company. You can watch the full hour-long video here. Continue Reading

Originally posted at: KBB Collective

A new model of design practice
Designers are inventing new ways to redefine the design profession

On Earth Day, I was in Seattle to speak to the students at Seattle University. While in town, I had the chance to meet with someone I had been admiring for a while.

John Morfield is the founder of Architecture 5 Cents. John was your typical 20-something architect when he was laid off from two different firms in the space of a year. Instead of digging around for another job, he redirected his loneliness and frustration into doing something tangible. He followed his desire to be around people and built a booth to wheel into the Ballard Farmers Market in Seattle. The sign above his head reads simply, “Architecture 5 cents.”

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At the 2009 West Coast Green Conference, I interviewed Gary Klein, one of the leading experts on water management who used to work for the State of California and is now Managing Partner of Affiliated International Management. He has taught me more about water as a resource than anyone else.

Here in his interview, you’ll hear Klein’s understanding of water and how the inevitable water crisis could be avoided:

At the 2009 West Coast Green Conference, I was fortunate enough to get to meet and interview Alex Wilson, Executive Editor of Environmental Building News, part of the incredible Building Green site that I visit almost daily.

Here in his interview, you’ll hear Wilson talk about the challenges and roadblocks facing us:

At the 2009 West Coast Green Conference, I was fortunate enough to get to meet and interview someone I have admired for a while. Martin Melaver is CEO of Melaver Inc., a sustainable real estate development company and author of the wonderful book, Living Above the Store.

At the conference, I put together a panel with Melaver and David Orr having a conversation. (The nice part of being part of the Conference Advisory Board is being able to make things that I really just want to see.)

Here in his interview, you’ll hear Melaver’s view to sustainability: