May 3, 2006

What does Brad Pitt know about sustainable Architecture?  After narrating a six-part series entitled e2, the Economics of Being Environmentally Conscious, more than we may have thought. From the star’s own mouth: “By employing the intelligence of natural systems we can create industry, buildings, even regional plans that see nature and commerce not as mutually exclusive but mutually coexisting.”

The six-part series, scheduled to air on PBS in June, will examine built and planned green buildings in New York, Chicago, China, and elsewhere, and will explore the increasingly tenuous state of the environment. It address what architects have long known about the ecological importance and economic benefit of designing sustainable buildings. The series seems to come at a moment when green building is gaining in popularity, and in relevance. Energy prices are at new highs, sprawl isn’t slowing, and as the movie’s trailer states, constructing and operating buildings in the United States is responsible for 40 percent of energy consumption.

The film includes commentary from sustainability advocates and architecture experts like New Yorker critic Paul Goldberger, architect William McDonough, University of Texas Professor Sergio Palleroni, and Architecture for Humanity’s Cameron Sinclair. To coincide with the series, its sponsor, Autodesk, will be promoting its building information modeling software, which helps designers evaluate the energy efficiency of their designs by integrating sustainability into the design process.

Sarah Cox

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