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Alex Wilson, the founder of our company and our current executive editor (i.e., my boss), is being named the 2010 Hanley Award winner in a special event here at Greenbuild 2010 tomorrow. In recognition of this achievement, and to better understand how this innovative, always-curious visionary looks at the world, I recently asked him 10 questions. Here's the conversation.
 The living space in this new home built by Global Green in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans is elevated four feet (1.2 m) to keep it above expected flood level. Numerous other "passive survivability" features are included. |
Alex Wilson founded BuildingGreen in 1985, when the green building movement was in its infancy. As executive editor of Environmental Building News, the bible of green building, Wilson has provided the information that has formed the building blocks of the movement. In November 2008, Wilson received the Leadership Award for Education from the US Green Building Council, whose board he served on from 2000 until 2005, the crucial period when the organization created the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. Wilson launches the conversation with a primer on green building and its history, starting with an explanation of LEED.
Over 18 years and more than 160 issues of Environmental Building News, I've written quite a few articles — I hesitate to think about how many — but out of all of those, I think I had more fun and learned more in writing my most recent than ever before. "Growing Food Locally: Integrating Agriculture into our Built Environment" examines opportunities for producing food around, and on, our buildings that few architects, builders, or developers have yet considered.
I think I had my first vegetable garden when I was five or six — back in Berwyn, Pennsylvania. There were a few years during college and perhaps some of my time in New Mexico when gardening didn't fit into my life. But other than that, growing some of my food has always been important to me. Thus, I surprised myself to realize a few months ago that I had yet to write — or even consider — an article for EBN addressing the potential for integrating food production into our built environment. |
| Creating a superinsulated building envelope is one of the key requirements with passive survivability. I saw this superinsulated home feature when I was in Sweden last year. Photo: Alex Wilson. Click for bigger. |
EcoSeal: A New System for Air Sealing Homes
Alex Wilson says, "Charles,
In our case I think the air barrier (Huber's Zip sheathing) is vapor-impermeable to a significant extent. It is a coated sheathing...
" More...Charles Wahl says, "
The article suggests that from the air barrier location, the wall dries to interior within, and to exterior without. That's only the case when the...
" More...This Week’s Un-News on GSA and LEED
Paula Melton says, "GSA has sent us a statement that concurs with our reporting on this issue:
"The committee's vote serves as additional input in our overall...
" More...Choosing Insulation: What Are Your Deal-Breakers?
John Sesic says, "Tanya,
In regards to open-cell spray foam insulation it is a great choice epsecially in your application. With the right type of spray...
" More...Why Can’t I Buy a Non-Toxic Sofa?
Andrea Lemon says, "I too have been trying to find a non-toxic sofa and am frustrated by the lack of options.
I have a ratty-looking but structurally-sound sofa...
" More...