Living Buildings: Environmental Architecture in Europe

Sylvia Juzwa, 2004 Plym Traveling Fellow

Tuesday, April 5, 2005
7:00 P.M. - Lawrence J. Plym Auditorium
Temple Hoyne Buell Hall

The current state of the planet is at moments quite bleak. Deforestation, reliance on and over-use of non-renewable resources, pollution and waste is creating environmental degradation. Architects and planners have an immense impact on the world and can be a driving force in stricter, more efficient building regulations and sustainable building practices. The World Commission on Environment and Development defines sustainable development as: “…development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. Ideas on sustainability are slowly being enacted in the US with building principles such as in LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), although such ideals have been in practice in Europe for decades. Switzerland, Germany, The Netherlands and Great Britain have fascinating examples of regenerative buildings and entire swaths of degraded, industrially polluted land that have been reborn as the lungs of communities, breathing energy and vitality to each person’s work day or a community’s psyche and belief in a healthier future. Architecture, in our built environment, produces nearly half the world’s carbon emissions, but through thoughtful planning is capable of zero waste and zero carbon. It’s time to stop merely talking about wanting to create a better world. The research and investigations have been conducted. We must understand the reality that architecture can be both self-sustaining and regenerative; and then design thoughtfully.

About the Lecturer

Sylvia Juzwa graduated from the University of Illinois in 1999 with a Master of Architecture degree. Her design thesis initiated a conversation about the importance of a vital urban fabric, the investigation, re-evaluation, and reuse of historically rich industrial buildings, instead of their demolition. Sylvia continued these investigations in her professional career, working for Rafael Viňoly and Fox & Fowle Architects. Her awareness of environmental architecture was heightened further upon understanding the wastes and inefficiencies in the practice of architecture. Wanting to further understand the issues, possibilities and prospects of regenerative, environmentally sensitive architecture, she embarked on a journey of discovery, with the tremendous support of, and opportunity created by, the Francis J. Plym Fellowship, to study European initiatives in Green Design. Sylvia is currently in the process of relocating to London, where she will continue her enthusiastic exploration of environmentally sustainable architecture.