PART V: The Sustainable Preservation Thesis is Born

Fast forward to 2008 when I started really researching the converging goals of historic preservation and sustainability. Inherently I knew that they shared the goals of environmental, economic, and socio-cultural equity – also known as the “three E’s” of sustainability – but it seemed like neither discipline acknowledged or was aware that they shared these goals with one another. That is, until recently. I think it is safe to say that the field of historic preservation has the sustainability movement to thank for the clear articulation of its own goals, which preservation has successfully adopted to validate its own place within the emerging “green building” ethos. This is not to say that preservation has not always had these aims – on the contrary, I believe that preservationists were green without even knowing it. As with all movements, preservation has gone through themes or phases in promoting and inspiring the conservation of the historic built environment.

ENTER THE FIRST TWO (semi) Official PARAGRAPHS
OF THE INTRODUCTION OF MY THESIS:

The never before seen Introduction (okay seen by two people ... my thesis adviser and my reader ... but that is it ... you people are the first! Hope you like it!):

“We cannot build our way to sustainability, we must conserve our way to it.” This is the declaration given by architect Carl Elefante, effectively calling both building and preservation professionals to arms in the battle for truly sustainable development. Donovan Rypkema, preservationist and economic development consultant, made the same connection as described in the preface, choosing Coke cans instead of newspapers to illustrate the concept of embodied energy. He reports that the demolition of one typical American downtown building – 25 feet wide and 120 feet deep – negates the environmental benefit of recycling 1,344,000 aluminum cans. Not only has a historic building been wasted, months of diligent recycling by an entire community has been thrown away. When placed in real and tangible terms the connections between historic preservation and sustainability are readily apparent. The academic and commercial literature, however, demonstrate a severe gap in articulating this convergence.

To be clear, the present global concern of climate change, compounded by the energy crisis in the United States, has spurred widespread interest in sustainability and ‘green’ building. Commercial literature abounds on the subject, as the building industry quickly attempts to address the impacts of the built environment on natural and urban ecologies. The literature addressing sustainability, however, focuses predominately on new construction, systematically ignoring the already existing building stock. Likewise, the literature for adaptive reuse of historic structures only vaguely asserts its natural alignment with the concept of sustainable building. The fact that these two movements are rarely discussed concurrently in the academic literature of architecture, planning, and preservation, exacerbates the need for an evaluation of the sustainable reuse of historic buildings.

Part IV: Why Not Buildings?

I know ... you thought I forgot about my whole SERIES about my thesis didn't you! While I have had some interruptions, I haven't forgotten about the series or the THESIS for that matter ... so on we go ... in case you can't remember where we left off ... click here and refresh your memory.

Ready?

Okay.



“WE RECYLE NEWPAPERS BUT NOT BUILDINGS?” This is the exact phrase that came into my mind one day while on my way home from work. As a result of riding the D.C. Metro to and from work twice a day, five days a week, on average I was walking by eight newspaper recycling bins a day. Also in my daily commute of two years to the American Historical Association, I walked by almost a mile of historic row houses through the Capital Hill Historic District. Having grown up in one of the most rigidly planned cities in the nation, encircled by the suburban sprawl of Orange County, I marveled daily at the variety, individuality, and endurance of historic architecture. I began to wonder why we recycled small things like newspapers, soda cans, and glass bottles fervently in the name of “saving the earth” only to demolish entire buildings with seemingly no thought of the environmental impact. Not to mention the resulting impact on entire communities. I continued to ponder this seemingly incongruous connection, to no avail. I simply could not grasp the logic behind it and even started to wonder if the connection I had drawn between recycling and buildings made much sense.

As I researched and studied the field of architectural history and historic preservation and regularly walked the Southeast and Northeast Capital Hill Neighborhoods (which I came to discover were on the National Register of Historic Places as Historic Districts), I began to ask myself questions. Out of these experience grew a desire to not only preserve the past but to be a good steward of both environmental and cultural resources. In 2006 I was not yet able to articulate the connection I instinctively felt between historic preservation and sustainability. As far as I was concerned, preservationists were missing a huge opportunity to use the chic new concept of “green building” as a way to promote the preservation, restoration, and reuse of historic buildings. All I knew at this point was that reusing a building HAD to be “greener” than tearing one down just to build a newer more “green” one – it just seemed that obvious to me."

A few photos of beautiful old buildings in various stages of restoration and ultimately adaptive reuse ... its a beautiful thing! No one builds with brick anymore ... at least not like this.







PART V (the final installment) coming soon ... I promise it will come sooner than this post did!

new do ... take 2

so now i have actually dried and styled my new do myself and i like it even more. i flat ironed the layers instead of using a round brush ... which let's be honest, I can't really use. i think this look fits me a bit better. it feels young and fresh and of course - new!

here are a lot of shots i made my parents take of me in their backyard:

The straight forward view:
(p.s. in new skinny jeans - yay!)

My "better" side
(I joked about this with my parents because I had this
big zit on the left side of my face all week!)

With my mom:
(who by the way is an AMAZING seamstress and
took in two dresses of mine while I was in town
... because she loves me. And I also learned this trip
that she at one point was the costume maker for
"the playgirl club" - a gentleman's club when she was in college!
Yes, I know ... you are thinking WHAT! Hahahaha
This was all before she joined the church ... at least that is what she says!)

With my dad:

This is what happens when you let my dad take the picture,
he chops off your head:

Another attempt to get my entire head in the picture:

Another picture with me and my cool yellow wayfarers on:

One last shot - a self-portrait - because you can't trust
the parents to get a good shot of the sunglasses and hair
they haven't yet come to fully appreciate:

new do

i got a hair cut.

i like it.

my dad says i look 12 ... but in a good way (hahahaha - okay thanks dad!)

i like it anyway.

i feel like a have a TON of hair.

i feel like i might look like i am wearing a wig ... but in a good way.

i like it.

i might look like a doll ... but in a good way.

i haven't yet tried to style it on my own.

i will be attempting to blow dry it in a few minutes.

wish me luck.

A photographic journey of my look the last two weeks
FYI: LOTS OF FACE SHOTS OF JUST ME-
You have been warned.

Before I left for LA:

Driving from Oregon to LA
(wearing a friend's sunglasses):

In LA at the Getty Villa
with my cool Wayfarer sunglasses:

NEW HAIR CUT PIC #1:

NEW HAIRCUT PIC #2:

what do you think?

Pardon the Interruption

For all of you peeps and non-peeps alike ... the whole "BIG LOVE" thing going on right now is kind of a big deal. Generally I don't have a problem with the show (never seen it but the concept is not overly offensive to me) because I know that its television and that they got it all wrong anyway. I can let that all go. But what I do get upset about is hearing about the upcoming episode that depicts the temple ceremonies. The temple is the most important thing to me - its perhaps my most sacred and dear aspect of my belief.

Depicting it on television is not okay with me.

Those of you who know me, know that I don't get easily upset by the silly things that the world and the media do and say about the Mormons. I can take it all with a grain of salt and shrug it off. Making light or just being frivolous about the temple is the one area that I cannot shrug off. It makes me sad and upset and even angry. Sacred things are not to be trivialized.

The temple is the place I feel the most peace, I feel closest to God, and I feel at home. I learn something new every time I go. The spirit there makes me want to be better and to realize my potential.

That being said ... you may be wondering what the big deal is ... and why we build temples. The First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints complied a video and put it on YouTube to explain it. It is a beautiful overview.

PART III: Connections are Made

"The context of my personal awareness of, and interface with, environmentalism has merit in understanding how my academic and professional experiences have led me to pursue this specific thesis topic. I came to graduate school specifically to write a thesis like this one. I choose the University of Oregon because of its orientation to environmentalism, as well as what the program had to offer. Its location within the Pacific Northwest, widely regarded as the leading region for sustainable practices in the United States, solidified my acceptance of attending the UO. However, before the thought of graduate school to pursue a Masters of Science in Historic Preservation and before the idea behind this thesis had fully taken root, I had the beginnings of the idea planted in my mind simply by paying attention to how I felt in particular places. I am certain that I have a heightened sense of self-awareness due to my anthropological training and thus I began to notice my feelings as I walked around the historic Capital Hill Southeast Washington, D.C. neighborhood that I worked in.



Specifically, I noticed the differences I felt at home (in a high rise apartment building in Northern Virginia - the middle of what seemed to be corporate America) from how I felt as I walked to work from the Capital South Metro station through Southeast DC. I couldn't help but notice the irony that I went from home/corporate America to work/historic neighborhood. Isn't that backwards - a commercial living environment to a domestic working one - I was all confused. I worked in two old row houses that had been renovated into one and our neighbors were all residents ... these were there homes. As mentioned previously, I have always loved old things and thus it came as no surprise that I enjoyed the walk past historic row houses everyday. I noticed the variety of shape, style, and condition even though I had no real knowledge or formal training in architecture. What I did know was this: I felt something different when I walked through a historic neighborhood. I felt a sense of richness, depth, and stability. As a deeply religious and spiritual person, I quickly developed a sense of moral obligation to understand these buildings and neighborhoods and the role they played in people’s lives and in their surrounding communities."

Part IV coming soon!

Since I brought it up - let us fondly reflect on DC and the Capital Hill area ... I miss it so. Some of these pictures I am sure I have posted before ... but they really capture the area ...

The church building on the corner of 3rd and A St?

(work peeps - help me remember!)

Jimmy T's


The Capital Building


My first Thanksgiving in DC ... this was my 2005 Christmas card
(wow has it been that long? Sheesh I am getting old)


In between the capital building and the National Mall-
the sculpture is so dramatic - i love it!


One of my favorite things to take pictures of -
the Library of Congress Jefferson Building -
this picture is my desktop ... has been for a few years now.

PART II: The Gears Start Turning

The next installment on how I came to write my thesis ... to catch up read this one first. I promise to do better and post the next two installments in a more timely manner.

PART II:

"The teacher loved the idea since the seventh-grade class was working on a recycling project that could be highlighted in the book and the entire yearbook staff seemed to like it as well. After all, they voted the theme in - "97% Recycled 3% Attitude" – hands down. I thought I was pretty clever. After the yearbook was distributed to all the seventh and eighth graders at the end of the year, with its big silver 97% and even bigger recycle sign stamped into the fake forest green leather front cover, my tune changed. It was not exactly a big hit with my peers – go figure since I was blatantly saying we were highly unoriginal. I became extremely embarrassed about my contribution and needless to say blocked the concept of recycling out of my mind for at least five years (ah, youth ... always uncomfortable about something)."


"In my world, the environmental movement – which basically consisted entirely of recycling – took a hiatus while I was in high school. Yes, I still recycled newspaper and soft drink cans, but environmentalism was not on my radar much other than basic recycling and erratic weather patterns caused by El Nino. With El Nino came a gradual awareness of the discussion about climate change for me. By 2001 I was studying Archaeology at Brigham Young University (p.s. blogger wants me to spell archaeology like this = archeology ... that is sooo wrong) and we often were reminded of the earth’s warming and cooling periods – the most recent Pleistocene (ice age) and the current Holocene (interglacial period). The lecture would often touch on the controversial issue of whether or not man was speeding up the warming of the earth by accelerating the rate of depletion of the Ozone Layer through industrial and car emissions; or if this was a natural cycle that the earth goes through and we were more than capable of adapting to it. It is only recently that the world has come to a general consensus that the rate of climate change is increasing due to human activity and that changes in behavior might need to happen. That makes this thesis more important and relevant than ever."

PART III ... coming soon.