A Green Old Age

Walter Gallas writes about an unusual reason for a tear-down request in New Orleans:

This week I went to the New Orleans City Council to speak against a proposal to demolish an undamaged 1890’s Queen Anne style house on Henry Clay Street in the Audubon Park neighborhood so that the owners could build a new “green” house....

This urge to demolish is especially shocking given that its goal was supposedly sustainability, as it is a complete contradiction of what the green building movement envisions. It would be more responsible to apply green building principles to the current building–exploring ways to conserve energy, preserving its original materials, and ensuring that the building continues to exist for another 100 years. The resources contained in this house will be wasted and lost forever with its demolition.

Architecture In The News!

Item! Local heartthrob-architect Steve Freyaldenhoven adorns the cover of 99 Blocks, Greensboro's newest publication for downtowners! Architecture-conscious women's knees weaken. Sorry ladies, Steve's taken by the lovely and talented Ginna Freyaldenhoven, also an architect, and is his business partner, too.

Their company, Teague Freyaldenhoven Freyaldenhoven, is designing the renovation of the Southeastern Building, and they're bringing it back to its original appearance. Nice work, Freyaldenhovens!

Item! Local builder turns green! Roy Carroll builds apartments that meet the "green building" standard of the National Association of Home Builders. "This is not a government mandate. It's market-driven," he says. The NAHB says the market for green buildings is "exploding."

Carroll's is the second major project to "go green" in the 'Boro , following the lead of Dennis Quaintance's Proximity Hotel -- the only hotel in the eastern US to be built according to the even more stringent LEED standard.

On the QT -- some folks have been quietly urging the developers of the proposed Murrow Station to build green, too. No response yet. Developing ....

Item! News and Record columnist Rosemary Roberts visits Seattle, likes its architecture, gets a bit confused! She wrote,

Seattle is rapidly becoming a city of acclaimed architecture. The Experience Museum ... was designed by Frank Gehry. If you're not familiar with Gehry's work, think of his signature building, the Opera House in Sydney, Australia.

No, don't think that! The Sydney Opera House was designed by Jørn Utzon! Quick, somebody buy Rosemary a ticket to Bilbao!