Pam & Jeremy enjoyed a late morning respite from the daily grind to celebrate Earth Day in a very special way; to witness the dedication of the Bullitt Center, the first completely self-sustaining modern office building. The event attracted quite a crowd, as it should have, and there were more than a few giants of the sustainability movement present. Most recognizable were Bullitt CEO and ‘father’ of Earth Day Denis Hayes, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, and Governor Jay Inslee, as well as Harriet Bullitt and other members of her family and the Bullitt Foundation board.
Of particular note to Pam and I, though, was the attendance of Steven Strong of Solar Design Associates, and Tom Starrs of Sunpower Corp. To those of us who toil in the solar field, these two are titans. Steven Strong, as a pioneer of building-integrated photovoltaics, created attractive solar-powered homes and buildings long before any architect would have even considered such a thing possible. Tom Starrs was instrumental in crafting net metering laws that are now considered standard, when no such laws existed to provide a way for electric rate payers to feed solar power into the grid.
All in all, it was a great day for solar energy and for sustainable architecture and construction. Happy Earth Day, indeed!
