ARCHITECTURE / DIRK SUTRO : Ecologically Sound Design Is Back Again

Ecology was a hot topic during the 1960s, and the media carried reports of buildings and communities that would rescue the Earth from destruction. But the first energy-saving houses, with their awkward arrays of solar panels and unconventional materials, didn’t appeal to the average American. Visionaries who prophesied about ecologically balanced communities often found themselves speaking into a vacuum. After all, air pollution was bad, but not that bad. Traffic was thick, but somehow tolerable. California had drought years, but the rains eventually came.

As energy costs rose and fell over the next two decades, and federal tax credits for solar heating were eliminated during the 1980s, interest in energy-conserving architecture and planning waned.

The ‘90s, however, may be a prime time for architects and designers who specialize in ecologically sound planning. San Diegans Stan Keniston and Jim Bell are among the specialists; Keniston is an expert at designing energy-efficient buildings, and Bell is a self-labeled “ecological designer” and consultant on several large projects.

Bell says the convergence of world events, such as the Persian Gulf War and the California drought, has pushed ecological concerns into the limelight. But whether environmentally sensitive methods of design and planning will make significant inroads remains to be seen.

“I think there’s a new recognition of our dependence on oil and of water shortages,” Bell said. “But I think the biggest impetus for change has been pictures of the Earth from outer space. When people see the planet--blue, green, white clouds against the blackness of outer space, there is a subconscious understanding, almost going down to a genetic level, that this is it. If our life support fails, we don’t have any other options.”

Bell, 49, is a carpenter-turned-ecological design pro. In the mid-1970s, he began exploring the subject of ecology through the books of Barry Commoner (“The Poverty of Power”), Paul Ehrlich (“The Population Bomb”) and others.

“I was initially pretty frustrated, because everyone was telling what was wrong, but not what to do about it,” Bell said. “I realized no place was teaching the kinds of things I wanted to know.”

So Bell cut back his carpentry workload, reduced his lifestyle to bare necessities and, with the help of office space and phone time donated by San Diego state Assemblyman Larry Kapiloff (now a San Diego Superior Court judge), set out to give himself a crash course in ecological planning and design. In 1975, he founded his Ecological Life Systems Institute as a clearinghouse for vital ecological information.

During the mid-1980s, he earned a degree in Applied Sciences at San Diego State University, specializing in environmental design. Today, his services are much in demand.

He is consulting with De Anza Corp. on the proposed redevelopment of prime acreage on Mission Bay, now occupied by a mobile home park, into a hotel-resort that could become a prototype for ecologically sensitive design. The city of Chula Vista hired him to make recommendations on the development of the 23,000-acre Otay Ranch property, now being master-planned for a “new town” of 30,000 or more homes. Bell is also working on a pilot sewer water-reclamation project in Tijuana, and is busier than ever on the lecture circuit: In the past, he averaged 50 or 60 talks a year but expects to give 120 this year.

Eight years ago, Bell built a model of an idealistic university campus that would serve as a laboratory for ecologically oriented ideas. The design proves that environmentally sensitive buildings can also be attractive. Bell still uses the model to illustrate lectures.

Standing 6-foot-4 and red-bearded, Bell appears relaxed, well-informed and friendly. But, behind the easygoing surface is a calculating environmentalist who knows how to put his ideas into terms a businessman can understand: bottom-line costs.

Just how palatable his ideas have become was clear Monday, when he received an enthusiastic reception from the most conservative of groups: the Rancho Santa Fe Rotary Club. After lunch and a prize raffle, Bell had 20 minutes to speak. Dressed in slacks and a sweater, he addressed a sea of coats and ties.

Bell told them about cars that will get 100 miles to the gallon, oil dependence as a root cause of political woes such as Saddam Hussein, homes insulated with foot-thick layers of cellulose that reduce heating costs to less than $100 a year in a freezing climate, water reclamation, and refrigerators that use 80% less energy.

He also broached the subject of “ecologically integrated planning,” a way of examining a development site in terms other than political boundaries--such as the natural boundaries determined by terrain, water runoff patterns and other natural elements.

“He’s got a lot of ideas, I’ll buy that,” said Mory Wilson, a Rotarian and retired owner of a trucking company. Americans are “probably the biggest wasters in the world. He certainly deserves attention for what he’s trying to put across.”

It is admirable that some developers have consulted Bell, but the proof of their commitment will be in the projects they develop. Mike Gelfand, president of De Anza Corp., developer of the proposed Mission Bay project, sounds serious about ecological design.

“We made a deal with Jim Bell early on,” Gelfand said. “I made a commitment that we would do whatever he recommended, as long as we were going to implement proven technologies and not get involved in research, and as long as it makes economic sense.”

Bell and Gelfand foresee a low, 800-room hotel situated on the northeastern edge of Mission Bay. The building would be situated to take advantage of sun angles and ocean breezes, surrounded by drought-tolerant landscaping, and might incorporate sewage and rainwater reclamation. The city of San Diego is developing a new master plan for Mission Bay, which includes De Anza’s site. Gelfand hopes construction on his project can begin within the next two years.

“I think a lot of his recommendations are going to be doable,” said Chula Vista City Manager Jim Goss, who suggested that the city hire Bell for advice on Otay Ranch. “It’s because there is interest on the part of the city of Chula Vista, the county of San Diego and, I think, on the part of the developer,” Baldwin Communities.

While some of Bell’s most significant development projects are still in formative stages, Keniston, 42, a partner at Keniston & Mosher Architects in San Diego, has been responsible for several energy-conserving buildings, ranging from the San Pasqual Battlefield Visitor Interpretive Center in North County to the Julian main post office and other local and federal government jobs.

The firm’s new coup is a city maintenance building on Harbor Drive in San Diego. It combines crisp, good-looking design with energy efficiency. It is sited so that south-facing windows capture low winter sun that warms the interior. Breezes enter through a system of vents and operable windows to naturally cool the space. Abundant daylight reduces the need for energy-consuming artificial lights. A masonry “trombe wall” soaks up sunlight during daylight hours and radiates heat into the building into the chilly dawn, when workers begin to arrive.

Last month, the building won a Citation of Recognition from the San Diego chapter of the American Institute of Architects, although, amazingly enough, its energy-saving features were not mentioned at the awards ceremony, proof that even at the AIA, energy conservation is not the priority it should be.

In landing this job, Keniston & Mosher played down their knowledge of energy efficiency. They have learned that many clients grow uncomfortable when talk turns to energy-conserving jargon.

“We definitely dropped (extensive talk of energy conservation) from our presentation repertoire,” Keniston said. “I can’t say whether the client climate is improving with regard to investment in ecologically sound design. I have been disappointed that we haven’t been successful at getting the message across. Buildings need to be artful and social as well as technically sound. That’s what we’re trying to accomplish.”

Certainly, government leadership for ecological design has been inconsistent. With Ronald Reagan as President, Bell noted, solar energy tax credits were axed, while the oil industry and nuclear power were subsidized. When Jerry Brown was governor of California, he appointed Sim Van Der Ryn, an architect and ecological design guru, as state architect, and held a competition to design an energy-efficient state office building in Sacramento.

Today’s government leadership is also a mixed bag, and the forecast for the future of ecological design and planning is hazy.

“There is reason to be both pessimistic and optimistic,” Bell said. “If we continue to deny the reality of some of the roadblocks up ahead of us, ranging from what happens when carbon dioxide pollution reaches a certain level, to the depletion of ground water supplies and the destruction of agricultural soils, we’re in for a big decline. But if we recognize the needs, there is a tremendous potential to turn things around.”

DESIGN NOTES: From 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Bell will discuss “Water Solutions” at the downtown Main Library (820 E. St.). At 7:30 p.m. July 31, he will lecture in Hepner Hall at San Diego State University. Bell will also be a guest on KPBS-FM’s (89.5) “Metropolitan Journal” program, hosted by SDSU urban planning professor James Clapp, at 11 a.m. Aug. 15. . . .