The Rise & Fall of the Green Building Movement

How did the host city of SXSW become the birthplace of the international Green Building movement? What were the drivers, and the unconventional approaches to solving a growing US city’s forecasted energy shortage, that created Energy Star, and then the nation’s first and most vetted Green Building program? This is a fascinating story of questioning long-held assumptions, creative thinking and lucky timing in the face of a looming crisis that gave birth to the concept of socially & economically diverse environmentalism - and it was not necessarily borne out of the environmental movement!
Why is today's technology-based “LEED” Green Building program a far cry from the original, and arguably deeper, ideals and aspirations of the “Green” movement? What’s more real? What’s next?

Programming descriptions are generated by participants and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SXSW.

photo of Peter Pfeiffer
Peter Pfeiffer

Barley | Pfeiffer Architecture

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