STUDIO THEORY HOUR(S)

[10/2/2008 - Cuba: Peak Oil]

This movie was on the decreasing supply of oil and the rising demand for all other goods in Central America. It showed how an economy was struggling but yet managed to use their minimal resources to continue with everyday life.

Their transit system was modified into a a truck pulling beds with a canopy on it. People had to wait up to three hours for a bus to transport them from home to work. The "buses" held 300 people and were sometimes to full to pick up any other passengers. The government then issued bicycles to their citizens to help ease the amount of fuel being used and travelers inconvenienced on a daily bases.

In the 1970s King Hubbert predicted that the Worlds supply of oil will be half gone by the year of 2010. In my opinion, for someone to predict something as accurate is amazing, yet scary. Here it is 2008 and finding a gas station that has pump gas is rare.

[9/17/2008 - John Lynn 2030]

Today in Studio Theory Hour there was a guest speaker named John Lynn, who talked about the importance of sustainability. I found Lynn to be very informative as he introduced his ideas in a way that really got the audience thinking. The point that really stuck with me was the topic of rebuilding versus changing the way we build in the first place and reusing structures.

He also talked a lot about 2030, the type of approach that is practiced in architecture. It is a serious issue that architects have committed to give deep thought to when creating new structures. [www.sustainability2030.com.]

He introduced his ideas in a way that appealed to me in a unique way as far as national preservation is concerned. Issues such as this require clarification and attention. We [as humans] general have the biggest impact on the environment and Lynn described to us how life would be if we did not live on this earth. To further explain his idea, he used the concept of a storm as equivalence. When a storm passes through, it destroys things yet creates new paths or design.

Another topic I found interesting was how to get energy and carbon from sustainable sources such as: water, wind and the sun, these sources will never run out and they are free.
Lynn also highlighted and introduced LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) which focuses on “Green” building such as the proximity hotel.