Frank Sherman, a vice president at Mackenzie Keck Construction in Rockaway, N.J., talks about his passion for green building and his executive position on the U.S. Green Building Council's board of directors.
How did you get turned on to sustainable building?
I was an architect in private practice in Syracuse, N.Y., in the mid-90s. A friend at the time, the development director for the Rosamond Gifford Zoo, contacted me. I started a conversation about how one would go about designing a green building, because they were thinking about doing this…as I started to do some research, it became a "Eureka!" moment for me. Since then, I've continued to make this the focus of my expertise. I continued to practice architecture in New Jersey, went out on my own to become a green building consultant, and have maintained that as the central thread of my professional work over the years.
So your "light bulb" went off years before this became such a nationwide issue. Why do you think the concern has piqued in recent years?
I think it has been, in no small part, through the effort of organizations like the USGBC, who has really promoted environmentally preferable building practices. They have done wonders in raising the awareness of green building practices on a professional level, on an industry level with manufacturers, as well as with government and municipalities. At the same time, over the past four or five years, there's been a rise in consumer interest in environmentalism. That crystallized with Al Gore and climate change. He really galvanized the consumer end and brought this as a forefront issue. All of this has continued to create a demand simply to build better buildings. When I first started to preach about green, I talked about saving the planet…and that plays to a certain segment. Then I started to talk more about the business case for green. We were trying to convince corporate America they should be building green as opposed to their standard practice, which was quick, cheap and dirty.
What makes a great green building?
The really good designers don't go out of their way to design green – they go out of their way to design well. The best green buildings I see aren't the ones that scream, "I'm green!"...the ones that cover themselves in green roofs, tons of solar panels, all the bells and whistles. In fact, some of the best green buildings are the ones that are fairly modest and their value is about what they don't do. It's the energy you don't use; it's the materials you don't have to use; it's the resources on an ongoing basis that you don't have to purchase, use and throw away. The virtue of using less and consuming less – everyone talks about conservation. A good green building is very often not extravagant.
Tell me about your work on the U.S. Green Building Council.
I'm on their executive team – I'm the secretary of their national board of directors. I've been involved with the USGBC since 2000. It is an organization that is very near and dear to my heart. I have given, over the years, an inordinate amount of time and volunteer energy. I started on a local level with a group of people helping to found the New Jersey chapter of USGBC, then worked on national committees growing USGBC chapters around the country. After being chair of the chapter steering committee, I was selected to sit on the board. I really enjoy it because I get to interact with some of the most incredible people in the country, people from all professional walks of life who are very focused and very passionate about what they do. The collective intelligence scares me. Sometimes I think I know stuff and then I get into a room with these people.
Comments, Pingbacks:
No Comments/Pingbacks for this post yet...
