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The newspaper of The Johns Hopkins University May 23, 2005 | Vol. 34 No. 35
 
Urban Issues Lecture Looks At Sustainable Design

Architects Julie Gabrielli and Kim Schaefer, principals of TerraLogos: eco architecture PC, will show examples of their firm's "green" designs.

The 2005 Garrett Lecture on Urban Issues, "Seeking Sustainable Design: Structures, Communities and Cities," with architects Julie E. Gabrielli and Kim Schaefer, will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 24, in the Carriage House at Evergreen House.

Gabrielli and Schaefer, principals of TerraLogos: eco architecture PC, specialize in "green architecture," a term used to describe economical, energy-saving, environmentally friendly, sustainable development. While the green theory and practice of architecture is still relatively new, Gabrielli says, the field is growing rapidly as the public becomes more aware of the long-term negative impact of new construction and the rising costs and diminishing availability of certain energy sources.

The Garrett Lecture honors the legacy of former Evergreen owners John Work Garrett and Alice Warder Garrett and earlier generations of the Garrett family and their great interest in civic improvement. In the mid-1940s, Alice Warder Garrett held an Urban Issues Forum at Evergreen House that had as its focus urban/city planning.

This week's lecture is designed to bring together architects, builders, planners and community members for a conversation about the role smart design can and should play in the community.

"We are dedicated to creating sustainable design that integrates natural systems, fosters community and inspires positive change," Gabrielli says, adding that she and Schaefer believe that sustainable design is "the only true way to build" as it results in higher-quality, longer-term design.

"Although some people feel this is a radical idea, we want to move beyond buildings that are merely 'less bad' to those that are beneficial to the natural world," she says. "We should not be satisfied with slowing down the destruction of our environment when we possess the ingenuity and technology to create buildings that actually have a positive impact — that can improve the environment, our economy and our communities."

Examples of this type of positive design and construction include Terra-Logos' Green Rowhouse Renovation and the Watershed 263 project, an initiative with Baltimore's Parks and People Foundation that examines how water moves through Baltimore and proposes ways to improve water quality through the creation of green areas on the city's west side.

In April, the City Council passed a resolution establishing the Baltimore City Green Building Task Force, which will study the application of high-performance, sustainable building guidelines and standards. Task force members are architects, developers, neighborhood associations, foundations and representatives of diverse city departments including Health, Housing, Public Works, the Mayor's Office of Neighborhoods and Baltimore Heritage.

Admission to the lecture is $8 for JHU students, faculty and staff; $10 for others. For more information, call 410-516-0341.
— Abby Lattes

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