James Rose & Energy Efficient Architecture
“Living Light House.” University of Tennessee College of Architecture and Design. 2011.
The main idea of the projects presented by James Rose seemed to be that eco-friendly housing is not very difficult to achieve. While the students who worked on these projects undoubtedly put in countless time and effort, what students can accomplish, companies should be able to accomplish three-fold. Rose demonstrated that these structures are not only functional but also very beautiful and livable. The strangest part was that the seemingly-high-tech technology used in the Living Light House was actually pretty outdated, meaning that these types of homes should be easier to build and more efficient with today’s technology. The Living Light House is actually something I personally could envision living in, which is why I found it surprising when Mr. Rose said that homes designed with this kind of self-sufficient technology are few and far between. The reason for this phenomenon is even more dissatisfying than the fact that this technology is being neglected. Rose stated that often times the case is just that contractors and businesses only want to work with those materials and methods to which they are accustomed. This to me seems sad because if this were always and only the case, there would be no such thing as modern architecture, modern art, modern anything. Rose showed us a home that not only produced more energy than it used, but one that was elegant, somewhat affordable, and even portable. With the growing emphasis on sustainability, it seems that self-sufficient homes such as this one should be more prominent. In a world of cookie cutter suburban houses, I’d probably rather live in Living Light.
