After seven years of working as an Interior Designer in the San Francisco Bay Area, I decided to go back to school to study architecture. Like many who go back to school in their late twenties, I was searching for something more, a greater calling.
During my first year at California Polytechnic, San Luis Obispo, I found that calling in the parallels of an Environmental Biology class and Construction Technologies 101; one class talking about soil and ancient redwoods and the other about the site and timber construction.
To me the message was clear: Sustainable building is the only future we have. So I spend the next 5 years researching and designing sustainable buildings. During those 5 years I was fortunate enough to study in Copenhagen, Denmark. While there, I was introduced to co-housing, an alternative living community which originated in Demark circa 1960. I was so inspired by the concept that I designed a 17 unit completely off grid cohousing development complete with energy calculations for my thesis project.
After graduation, I became a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional (LEED AP) and am currently working as a residential designer, sustainable design consultant, and contributing blogger on ecocentricblog.com.
To learn more about our sustainable design services at
www.ecocentricdesign.org
Carrie, thanks for your post on your visit to the Brower Center (and yes, those are waterless urinals in all the men's rooms).
ReplyDeleteWhile the physical structure may provide lots of points in the LEED rating system, I find the real greenness comes from the social structure: the green nonprofits and innovative businesses it hosts, and the incredible people.
As a founding member of the HUB coworking space for social entrepreneurs up on the 4th floor, we operate our cohousing coaching business out of there. What I find truly inspirational and valuable and motivating for our own green journey are the people and their projects. It's not a distraction when overhearing what someone else is working on leads me to a new idea or connection, or spurs me on to do something I wouldn't otherwise pursue.
Let us know the next time you'll be around Berkeley, there's lots of cohousing to connect with, including our home community just 8 blocks from the Brower Center.
Raines Cohen, Cohousing Coach
Planning for Sustainable Communities
(BTW, I'm on the path to LEED credentialing myself, taking the Green Associate exam to lay the groundwork for pursuing the AP-ND once that test comes out this year)