LEED

I must admit, I browse Bloomberg regularly - which is how I came across a Frank Gehry interview by Thomas Pritzker (of Pritzker Foundation and the Pritzker Prize). I am a adamant proponent of environmental sustainability and Gehry's views on LEED certification struck me as selfish and misinformed. Admittedly, my own biases are showing through in a big way, but isn't any action in conservation, preservation and sustainability a worthy one? Dismissing environmental concerns as political, Gehry went on to state that "“the costs of incorporating those kind of things don’t pay back in your lifetime.” What a flashback to myopic finance classes specializing in the extollment of monetary return as paramount. Humanity as a whole isn't significantly bettered or remembered by the return of a security, humanity is shaped and defined by culture, built form, and hope.

I still respect Gehry's contribution to the architectural landscape but quite simply: with great influence comes great responsibility. Unfortunately, architects gain widespread status not by conceptualizing human betterment but through the realization of the grand and the unexpected. This world needs architects to design for the good of humanity. If more established architects were kind to both the environment and those who utilize built form, would such association diminish their work? I don't think so.

-WONG