Back to the future?

The Big Picture: Sometimes it’s useful to look backwards to get a handle on the steps one needs to take to see real progress.  This is especially true within this movement for building a better planet-wide society.  Much has been tried already, and from those projects, much was learned.  Today we’ll take a glance at the Green Building Movement that began in the 1970’s.

For the Record: By now Green Building practices have a real active presence in the economy.  There are LEED standards that new and renovated buildings are following, and much innovation in the generation and storage of power on-site.  These are good, and more could be done in this arena.  Part of my own independent studies in the 1990’s acquainted me to longstanding projects as Arcosanti & Cosanti; in the western US states.  These folks bought 800 acres in Arizona, and over 50 years of development have carefully managed to thrive within only 20 acres.  So they have all they require, and are able to protect a huge swathe of land from encroachment.  Their focus on architecture is renowned; not least in the ways they managed to cool their dwellings without modern Air Conditioning, simply using good design principles.  No small feat, in a place that routinely tops 100 degrees Farenheit for much of the year.

• https://www.arcosanti.org/50th-anniversary/

Meanwhile in neighboring New Mexico and Colorado, the Earthships architectural movement was also taking off.  They too seek to work more closely with nature and its teachings; to create homes that work efficiently within their given situations.  I am lucky enough to have stayed in a few, they are truly beautiful as well.

• https://www.earthshipglobal.com/

Looking further south, we come upon the Centro de las Gaviotas project in Columbia. I’ll focus a bit more on Gaviotas, since it’s not terribly well represented online.