Thursday, January 17, 2008

Green means preserving, not destroying

[Source: National Trust for Historic Preservation] -- With "green building" all the rage, Americans are beginning to realize what preservationists have long known: contrary to much of the hype around sustainable design and construction, the "greenest" building is often one that has already been built. When he was honored with the National Building Museum’s prestigious 2007 Vincent Scully Prize last month, National Trust President Richard Moe used the opportunity to hammer home that point, using his address to make the case for historic preservation’s “essential role” in fighting climate change. “We can’t build our way out of our environmental problems. We have to conserve our way out. That means we have to make better, wiser use of what we’ve already built.” His speech included statistics that illustrated the breadth of this issue and new sustainability initiatives for the National Trust.

Expanding on Mr. Moe’s speech, the January/February 2008 edition of the National Trust’s Preservation magazine is titled “The Green Issue.” Covering many timely topics such as the cost of overlooking old buildings in favor of new ones, tips for an environmentally friendly home, and a look at sustainable architecture at work in Chicago, the issue is available in print and online. APF encourages you to share this with your friends and associates to expand your knowledge of the benefits of preserving and reusing existing buildings, and its impact on Arizona communities.