Excerpt
A conventional architect gone green, Malcom Wells designs buildings that literally blend into the landscape. Installing buildings into the earth instead of on top of it, he says offers advantages of natural insulation, fire- and sound-proofing, exteriors that need litde maintenance, and nearly intact landscapes unmarred by boxy buildings that may or may not be aesthetic assets.
“I'm just trying to undo the horrible damage I did as an office building designer,” says Wells, 77, a tall, lanky man with an understated, even self-deprecating charm. With his waves of white hair and white beard, Wells appears a Moses-like figure updated for 2003 in white shirts and khakis.
“I feel guilty for years of knocking down forests. Then it dawned on me that we can make [buildings] green,” he says. “I think a building should disappear into the landscape as animals …
Footnotes
- Copyright 2003 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
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