A hotly contested game has been going on in New York City. The new Hearst Building, in midtown, has been rivaling downtown’s 7 World Trade Center to see which one would become the first commercial high-rise office building to be certified gold with a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating.

It’s not every day that conservation matters (particularly when applied to nature and natural materials as the LEED program does) get so much attention and become the focus of builders and developers in a city traditionally better known for its contempt for “softer, fuzzier, warmer.” 

In addition to their competition to gain the gold (7 World Trade Center took the honor), these two buildings have something else in common, which ties into this issue. James Carpenter, whose firm has consistently created some of the most innovative uses of glass over the last couple of decades, played a role in their designs. He spoke at length in a recent interview with us on his work on the Hearst Building and its dramatic Ice Falls water feature in the entrance lobby. He also was involved in 7 World Trade Center, providing the kind of specialty design work his company is noted for.

And speaking of being eco-friendly, James Carpenter shares with us how his company strives to incorporate an environmental aspect into the design aspects of every project it works on. He reports that he finds glass to be the quintessential natural product and that much of his work is driven by that natural force, light.

When we spoke with him, he spoke elegantly about the role that light plays in design because of the role it plays in the life of each of us. Whether we are aware or not, our memory has stored “light” moments and very often these are connected to a sense of place. Therefore, he can create designs which use the light to trigger these memories to create the sense of place in the structure.

This is all done without the individual being aware of it. And it’s the same with building green structures. The general public is probably not aware of how much green building is going on and how seriously the architectural community is committed to this concept; but, we’ll all have the advantage of it as fewer of our natural resources are consumed and we enjoy a healthier environment.

USG
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