HornGarbageWarrior

=== **Argument:** The story follows a man named Michael Reynolds who was trained as an architect in the 60's at the University of Cincinnati. He lays out his basic argument in the beginning of the film by saying when he was in school architecture wasn't about the environment and was barely about the people. I know that this was precisely the case as architecture was attempting to move beyond the modernist canons and explore phenomenological aspects of design. The argument that emerges over the course of his career is that local governance is too tied up in paperwork and regulations,as well as legal hoops, that attempt to maintain a status quo that no architectural experimentation can occur at the scale and rate which it needs to to create change in the amount of time span we have. What he pushes for in the New Mexico legislature is an area set aside for experimentation at full scale, free from the restrictions of building code. Another key focus of his work, which drives the title of the film, is that he attempts to use discarded waste in a performative and experiential manner. What he develops are buildings and communities called Earthships. This is a quite clear connection back to Bucky Fuller who described the Earth as the greatest spaceship in the universe. These buildings are supposed to act like biological systems and function like an ecosystem or at least in a responsible manner, focusing on the creation of little excess waste. ===

=== **Problems:** The sustainability problems which emerge are actually relatively focused. First is the questioning of how architecture is manifesting itself. The architecture being produced is criticized as ignoring environmental concerns and failing to capitalize on simple architectural strategies that provide the basic necessities as food, shelter, and water. The primary issue that emerges as Reynolds goes ahead with his work is the legal pressures that are placed on him by clients to deliver a completely functional house in terms of typical construction techniques. What also occurs is that the legal system is weighted in the direction of the homeowner and doesn't allow for architectural experimentation. This problem reveals itself in the standards established for the development of land as a subdivision and also in standardized construction for safety. What eventually happened was Reynolds lost his architectural license for failing to comply. Once he enters the legal process to try to get his license back and push through a bill for a sustainable construction testing ground, another problem but opportunity for design emerges. This is regarding the impact that natural disasters have on indigenous people in regions that cannot afford emergency refuge. His first involvement with this type of charity design and construction work occurred after the large tsunami ravaged many pacific islands in 2004. He went with a team to the Adaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal in India and found emergency structures that offered no advantage for the user and actually treated them like cattle shoving them into steel huts with no light. ===

=== **Persuasive:** I was definitely intrigued by the concepts that he was exploring but at the same time I remain highly critical of him because he is operating so roguishly in my field. Probably the most enticing thing was that he was actually was able to push through the state legislature an area of land to experiment in near real time with sustainable design concepts. This is an architect's dream. In our working process we are constantly moving ideas quickly between conceptual drawing and realization in model form. Adding the ability for full scale testing during initial stages rapidly enhances the knowledge gained. I also felt that the responses he was utilizing in the emergency architecture was exactly the right setting for the type of architecture he was provoking. It is small, functional but simultaneously performative. Rainwater collection systems encourage the formal manifestation of the roof, while a unique structure idea for resisting earthquake forces creates interesting structure and form. ===

=== **Not Compelled:** What I was not compelled by was the actual architecture that he was producing out in the desert region of New Mexico. His methods appeared to evolve in the documentary from his own research and experimentation, however these are indigenous techniques that have been used by populations around the world for thousands of years. The idea of thermal mass, where large amounts of earth are packed together to store heat over the course of the day and then release it when temperatures reach below freezing at night, is the same method used by the Pueblo Indians in their cliff dwellings. I am also not compelled because I believe that culture and society has to always look forward. What Reynolds is suggesting is a return to the past and an abandoning of global culture. I think it is important to understand that the problem with globalization lies in economic globalization, not cultural globalization. There are plenty of architectural interventions being explored today and even from members of his own generation that are creating sustainable homes that function maybe not as radically but definitely as rigorously. I am also extremely questioning why if he is challenging the current manifestation of building and community he doesn't challenge the notion of typology of his buildings. He continues to produce single family homes just using new manners of construction. Why do there have to be 12 plots of land all with a house when there could be a massive complex that provokes more interaction and works as a greater environmental system. ===

=== **Audience:** This movie is definitely not geared towards anyone in the design profession. I think that it is hard for most to resonate with this man as well because of his “hippie” nature. Even though he engages and works within the system at the capitol to pass the bill, the majority of it is not his personality but his personality constantly conflicts with the system to the point where many others have to get in between to fix his wording and statements. I would imagine the group this was aimed for are homeowners that are beginning to take steps to “green” their homes. This is because it addresses radically different issues that suggest a new way of living. The owners of the Earthships are often quoted regarding home ownership and further suggests this audience. ===

=== **Enhancement:** While the documentary was clearly based on this one man and his struggles through the system, I believe it gives an inappropriate view of the architectural community in general. While the architecture community is just beginning to put a great deal of effort into smartly caring for the basic needs of individuals in the future, it has always been about increasing human experience of space and expanding our formal vocabulary. If some information about other sustainable practices were placed towards the end of the documentary it would have been helpful in showing other methodologies. Instead Reynolds appears to give all architects besides himself a bad name and become the savior of buildings. ===

=== **Intervention:** The intervention was to get owners and individuals to think about a different type of built environment. However he offers no flexibility which I believe scares a lot of individuals. ===

**Additional Info:**
===  **1]** I was reminded by the film about a group out of the University of Auburn named the Rural Studio. These educators, led by a man named Sam Mockbee, have been creating green sustainable designs out of trash in a much more elegant and sophisticated manner for poor communities in Alabama for over 15 years. I decided to take another look at their work and discovered that Sam Mockbee had died in the past few years and the studio still lives on. Here is also a documentary that was done on the studio and the man behind its creation. ===

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 ===  **2] I** became interested in how come environmental concerns aren't added into simple zoning code requirements. It seems like the the agencies that govern environmental standards, like LEED, are another unecessary component that draws funds away from the actual realization of a process. What I discovered is that town and counties are actually picking up on the fact that LEED requirements should simply be built into basic building code. Apparently Cambridge, MA is currently working LEED criteria into their code and setting up requirements for green building technologies and interventions. ===

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