For the first time in our region, a landmark exhibition on sustainable contemporary architecture and environmentally sensitive building practices will take place at The University Gallery, Fine Arts Center, UMass Amherst. This 3-month long project will run from February 10 through May 9, 2010. The exhibition, its related lecture series and the Green Lounge* are designed to deepen the public’s understanding and use of ‘green’ design, and to demonstrate that the key elements of sustainability can be accessible to all.
Sustainability has become an accepted concept that applies to people from a wide range of social and economic backgrounds. It requires broad systemic thinking around critical economic, social, as well as environmental issues. The exhibition will address these issues, providing a springboard for thought-provoking questions, discussions, and commentaries. The specific focus on the Pioneer Valley will highlight our region and its forward looking communities
Through models, photographs and virtual tours, the exhibition unites works as diverse as large scale science buildings, private residences, low-income housing and intimate gardens of natural inspiration, and illustrates the many ways that green design can help solve our environmental crisis. This region is rich in sustainable buildings that mirror national green trends in architecture and design. The exhibition includes works by nationally and internationally known figures such as Michael Singer, Sigrid Miller Pollin and Charles Rose, as well as prominent architects from our region such as Coldham & Hartman; Kuhn Riddle; Austin Design; Juster Pope Frazier and Dietz & Co. The goal of the exhibition is to bring together examples of green design, highlight their aesthetic and sustainable attributes and impress upon our audience the visual and material accessibility of those features.
The exhibition is guest curated by architectural historian Margaret Birney Vickery, Ph.D.
*The Green Lounge* is a meeting area within the University Gallery, designed by local architects, furnished with eco-friendly furniture and offering a comprehensive interactive database and display of locally available green resources and materials from architects, builders and suppliers. Visitors are invited to actively use this space to plan changes in their own built environment.
