January 17, 2006

Ecological Oxymoron

This house was built using the latest 'green' construction techniques and I laud the owner, designer and contractor for that effort:

klein_house.jpg

This is also, in case you can't tell from the picture, a large house:

This hilltop site in Corte Madera was once home to the late rock impresario Bill Graham.

Today it holds what its designer says is probably the largest "green" - ecologically correct - house in America.

Designed by Inverness architect Sim Van der Ryn and under construction for more than five years, the 15,000-square-foot house was built for owner Michael Klein, a passionate environmentalist and board member of the Rain Forest Action Network. It replaces the Graham house, which has been razed.

Exactly why is a passionate environmentalist building a 15,000 square foot house? Yes, he can afford it but surely a wealthy passionate environmentalist would set an example for both commoners and his wealthy peers. He would use green building techniques and also build a home appropriate to a human family in the 21st century. I do not believe a case can be made that all 6,492,046,339 of us (as of 01/18/06 at 00:09 GMT) should be living in homes this size as nuclear familys.

It may be a great show place for green building techniques but unless it is to be the home of 30-40 people there is little about it that is ecologically correct.

Via Knockin' On The Golden Door via Grateful Dead News.

Posted by Steve on January 17, 2006
Comments

Hey there! Thanks for the trackback. You make a salient point about this house being an ecological oxymoron.

As a contractor working in this strata (and not getting paid in a timely fashion by those building such grandiose digs, my own home is exactly 1,187 sq. ft. A very comfortable size for me, my wife, her grandmother and our two beagles and one cat.

I intend to live here indefinitely.

On thje house in question on which I was recently working, I witnessed other hypocrisy in building which I will blog about in future episodes of Contractors Who Gert Bent Over By The (Green) Man.

Stay tuned!

Posted by Mark at January 18, 2006 6:16 AM

Wow! Sorry about the triple post. I was having trouble with the comment modulator!

Posted by Mark at January 18, 2006 6:20 AM
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