LEED AP just measures your ability to read a book and regurgitate.

so do most of those certificates though
so does passing most of your classes in school
so does passing the ARE for the most part



i would think it would look good for any prospective employees, but not a huge factor. i imagine it probably means less than having your LEED AP
still cant hurt though

I wish i could afford to be sustainable

So 4arch what would you recommend?

certificates are nice and such. maybe I'll even hire somebody with one, but it is the green attitude that I really am looking for. If you are serious, get an MS or post-pro M.Arch or go study with a OG guru. get some research and experience under your belt. build a little, love a little, live a little. don't think that a few classes that skim the surface will make you any greener then kermit.

gribbit.

those few classes are a way to skim the surface and see whats out there
why is that wrong?
i dont think anyone is saying that if you take a class and get a certificate or LEED certified, then you are an expert
but to completely dismiss them is ridiculous

I often have this reoccuring desire to cut my self off from society and force myself to learn to be sustainable.

For instance, if you compare sustainable design to a foriegn language, you can learn and take classes all you want but will never truely understand what it takes to function in a forgien society untill you go there and are forced to speak and interact with people for your very survial.

can we ever truley know how to design and build a sustainable building without being forced to do it, and live it?

Wouldn't it be a great experince to just go live on an isolated piece of land for a few years and force yourself to build a house with your bare hands and whats avalible on that site?

has anyone here done such a thing?

i know alot of architects use their own house as an experiment in design and a jumping point for career advancment. why not make it a truely sustainable one, instead of this fau greenwashed bullshit that is prepetuating its way through our profession.

sustainable means you have a present as well as a future. denying the present is not useful.

early settlers in the area i grew up in built houses out of sod cuz there were no trees. they had to pick the insects out of their bedding and lots of people died, but i guess they were sustainable cuz they left no real trace of their lives. not really sustainable though, cuz mostly they just suffered and died. whats the point of that?