The civic responsibility of Architects today has moved beyond the mear application of skills to civic structures and benevolence in the workplace. Architecture ,and modern architects in particular, are taking proactive roles in the outcome of the built environment. One of the more specific avenues of application is by using "Green" design.
The application of certification standards of the Green Building Council provides an outline to an approach to design in a responsible manner. This approach to building is a minimum standard and can serve as springboard for real "green" design. And when we talk about green design, we are talking about something that makes little or no impact in its creation and maintenance. Since Olglevay proposed a solar envelope and documented his findings, the research has been available and awaits the widepread acceptance into the eye of the public. Likewise, the most difficult task is to determine the end result of "greening" of a building.
The primary effort for architects in their civic role must be to take a proactive stance towards building which uses environmentally sensitive approach to design.
And why is this critical? Because our resources are limited and almost 40% of energy consumption is for building use and 40% of the world energy consumption is necessary to construct and maintain the built environment*. What this means is that with ever increasing demand for more constructed and design spaces we must strive to reduce both the wasteful building practices and the provide the responsible stewardship for the future generations. To do this we must shift our role from visionary to a role which engages the collaborative stance when assembling the building team. By bringing experts and associations into a collaborative process a more productive result will be achieved. It has the potentional to engage and gain support of owners. Architects will be returned to the leadership in this effort.

The fundamental questoins that we, as designers, must ask are:
1. What am I using?
2. How well am I using it?

This will be our a task worth our effort and the gift we can leave to posterity. The goal is to go beyond the eco-chic and truely pushes the frontiers of wasteful consumption.




*Nadav Malin, "The group effort"Green Source" November 2006 Vol 47 page 10