U.S. Green Building Council CEO Rick Fedrizzi is in New Orleans to see green developments on the ground - including Historic Green's community-wide work in the Lower Ninth Ward. Rick spoke to a packed house at All Souls Episcopal Church on St. Claude, with HG volunteers, neighborhood residents, USGBC and AIA members and many other green advocates from across New Orleans in attendance.
His message:
"Looking at the idea that these houses have historic value, both in the context of the building itself but most importantly in the context of the people. If walls could talk... And I think when you put people first, you have to realize that this is what this whole green building movement is all about. We talk about energy and water and waste and transportation, carbon neutrality and so forth. At the end of the day, what we really are talking about are the people inside these buildings and how valuable it is to have children in schools that have the advantage of a green building; how we have the ability for our elderly to be in hospitals that have the advantage of a green building: clean air, daylight, great thermal comfort, on-toxic materials, the ability to heal better, and the ability to want to get back to your life. That's one of the most important things that we can remember here today.
"What we really have to remember is the people whose lives were changed forever by Hurricane Katrina. The people here, whose homes and lives were ripped out from under them, the loss of their sense of security, the connection with community was severed, their health was compromised, their history was altered forever."
Charles Allen (right), director of the Lower 9th Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development and a former USGBC board member, presents Rick Fedrizzi with his very own Holy Cross t-shirt.
Sounds like it was a big success. Is it true that HG hosted a dinner with Rick and Cameron Sinclair (of Architecture for Humanity) after this presentation?! Very cool stuff!
Posted by: Jeremy | March 11, 2010 at 11:23 AM