...taking some time this evening to [advocate?] tell you about some thoughts from the day. Today, I attended a seminar on daylighting given by a professor from UNCC. He spoke a little about the public library in Mt. Airy (I consider that local, don't you?). After the passive solar building's ground breaking in 1981, it has far succeeded it's planned abilities to save and use energy wisely (which has been documented through studies and beneficial research...something we should all be more interested in and funding...but THAT isn't what I'm advocating for right this second).
I'm advocating for us to all take notice of the architecture we use daily (public library perhaps) and in places we aren't looking (maybe somewhere like...Mt. Airy, NC).
On the other hand, I was impressed with the Professors observations during his initial visit to this building. He had noted, prior to the construction of the new library in '81, their daylighting controls were manually operated by the persons using the building. There was a row of switches behind the reception desk, on sunny days or at the brightest part of the afternoon, a librarian could say "Hey, we've got plenty of daylight, I'm going to turn these florescent fixtures off and enjoy the warm glow from the sun." Thus, saving energy and building costs before we were a community concerned with that notion. NOW, with it's "passive solar design" and no individual control the library's lights stay on through all business hours. The controlled sensors and automatic dimers dictate when and where there is light in the space. So have they become more sustainable? Probably...through better fixtures and new design. But, have they overlooked the whole essence, in pursuit of what society is marketing as sustainable, of well planned and integrated sustainable design? I'd say, yes, a little.
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