Hi subscribers! Sorry for the delay in getting this one out. More episodes to follow.
An architect with a love for art discusses a return to "passive cooling technology" based on ancient techniques, how to build using "whole systems thinking," and how Linear Renaissance Perspective (the mode of drawing that western culture has accepted as an objective truth) took over urban design and has created a mode of thinking that has separated us from nature.
Carl Welty has a Masters in Architecture from Yale and a Bachelors from Cal Poly, San Louis Obispo. His company, Carl Welty Architects focuses on creating regenerative designs that are well-suited to their settings. Solar-oriented design, or passive solar design, produces buildings that are at least 50% more efficient than normal baseline buildings. This simple and timeless principle starts with reliable cycles provided by nature. Globally the energy consumed for air conditioning is responsible for 8% of greenhouse emissions and the leaking of refrigerants contribute another 7.8% of greenhouse gas emissions. The demand for air conditioning is project to increase six times by 2050 and the single largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions by the end of the century.
The mission Nature-Based Zero Energy Air-Conditioning seeks prove that you can build sustainably AND cost effectively. Carl seeks to collaborate with others to refine the vision, create a step-by-step business plan, and find funding and projects to implement these ideas. Carl says "I have come to the conclusion that by working in with nature as opposed to relying on machines and advanced engineering we can design buildings and communities that are more energy efficient, more resilient, without increasing construction costs. Too often people think that green design costs more - I can provide many examples contrary to this idea... For me demonstrating that sustainable design can be achieved for the same price as conventional design is critical. We are not going to save our place on this Blue Marble if sustainable design is a luxury that only the top 10% can afford."
Mentioned in this episode: https://carlweltyarchitects.com/
The Language of Creativity Podcast interview, Wendy Vanguard:
Please excuse any mild technical glitches in this episode, I just wanted to get it out. Every year, the Buckminster Fuller Institute (https://www.bfi.org) hosts a dynamic event called Trimtab Space Camp, and each event encourages participants to join or host a Mission, the collaborative learning component of this 8-week online event. This year's Space Camp: Towards Climate Stabilization hosted 20 Missions with over 150 participants. At the end of the eight-week journey, crew-members from each Mission have 5 minutes to share their results with the group and the wider BFI community of over 100,000 people.
The Spaceship Earth Mission Log project will be interviewing leaders from each of the 20 Missions over the next 8 weeks beyond the close of this Space Camp. Subscribe to make deeper connections and be notified when each Mission Log comes out!
Steven Leavitt hosts this series, and is the host of The Language of Creativity podcast, https://www.thelanguageofcreativity.com. He has attended four Space Camps since 2020 and is inspired by Buckminster Fuller's quote: “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”
tags: green design, architecture, Chinese landscape painting, Cubism, Renaissance linear perspective, El Lissitzky, concrete, building materials, futurism, Hyderabad, Turkey, wind scoops, cooling towers, Buckminster Fuller, greenhouse gasses, carbon footprint, freon, ancient, earthquakes, water cycle, fountains, systems thinking
Carl Welty: Nature-Based Zero Energy Air-Conditioning