Architecture 2030-JOHN LYNNE PRESENTATION

Today in Studio Theory Hour, architect John Lynne gave a presentation on sustainability and the new Architecture 2030 project. Lynne started his presentation by asking the question, "What if we were fish....what would we see?what would we do?". The answers that we came up were swim, hide from other predators, eat, see other fish, rocks and plants, etc. However, there are things beyond that they could see that we just do not know about. This example that Lynne provided us with really connected to his main concern of sustainability. Sustainability is something we are dealing with and learning about more and more every day. Similar to the simple fish example, everywhere we look there are buildings, but we never think of how much our world has been changing and becoming more complex. Global warming is becoming a heated topic in today's world where we know it is happening and there are ideas to change or at least try to reduce it, but it is not until we fully understand what all these buildings we see around us are doing until we can be successful. So the question is, how do we deal with this happening? In a way, this is why Lynne spoke to us today. He spoke to us as future designers and architects that can use his information to hopefully someday eliminate these problems all together.

Lynne goes on to talk about the new plan for this arising problem. Architect, Ed Mazria, wants to find the best way to apply sustainability towards buildings and he envisioned how to attack it by creating what he calls the 2030 challenge. The 2030 challenge is his latest idea which hopes to eliminate the use of carbon and products in buildings that cause global warming by the year 2030. Mazria knows that at least 50% of carbon has to be eliminated immediately, but his goals are that by 2010--60%, 2015--70%, and so on. This idea of the 2030 challenge was adopted by the AIA and named the AIA 2030 and is being supported by ASHRAE, IESNA, USBGC, and DOE. 2030 challenge argues that all buildings need to be carbon-neutral. It will be hard to get there, but it will be well worth the struggle.

Lynne then informed the audience that there are many resources on the UNCG website that anyone can go to to learn more about this 2030 concept and more about the goals and ways of eliminating carbon throughout buildings. The future holds for us a more climate-friendly environment if only everyone was educated on global warming and similar issues such of sustainability. Lynne then concluded with the quote,

"For the world is not painted or adorned, but is from the beginning beautiful; and God has not made some beautiful things but Beauty is the creator of the universe."     ---Ralph Waldo Emerson