Salvation by Design

Architects Join War on Global Warming

by Nick Welsh

For a carpenter, so the saying goes,
there are few problems that can’t be fixed with a hammer and nail.
Similarly, in Santa Barbara, where architectural review is
practiced as civic fetish, there are precious few problems that
can’t be solved by more intelligent design. To this end, Santa
Barbara’s chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) has
thrown itself into the battle against global warming, teaming up
with the Community Environmental Council (CEC) to lead the charge
on City Hall beginning early next year. Together, the two
organizations hope to convince the city to decree that as of 2030
all new buildings approved within Santa Barbara city limits — both
public and private — will be carbon-neutral, meaning they will emit
no greenhouse gases. They also hope Santa Barbara will establish
more limited goals to be achieved within a decade: namely, that all
new or revamped city-owned structures must reduce their emissions
by 50 percent and all new or remodeled privately owned structures
must achieve a 20 percent reduction.

“This is the Holy Grail,” exclaimed City Councilmember Das
Williams. “This is the most substantial change we can make.”
Williams said the architects he consulted told him that the first
40 percent reduction should be relatively simple. “The next 10
percent might take some effort,” he said, adding that the
discrepancy between public and private improvements was not as
stark as it seems since state law already requires private homes to
achieve a 30 percent reduction in such emissions.