“The Father of Green Architecture” is a title given to worldrenowned architect, Glen Howard Small. Small has relocated to Joshua Tree and is offering the class at Copper Mountain College beginning this Saturday. He’s also building a sustainable home and is seeking interested locals. In a two-part story, reporter Rebecca Havely interviewed Small. Here’s part two of the story…
Z107.7: Mr. Small you’re working on a green project involving a model home in Joshua Tree, can you tell us more about that?
SMALL: A former student of mine and I purchased a 5-acre lot. We’re going to try to put together an ecological house together, a kind of retreat that we will invite people to help us build—students and others interested. My idea is that I would like it to be in total harmony with the desert. It’s an experimental system that comes from the desert surroundings in a natural process. The technique I’m pushing is called earth mounding. You push up mounds of earth and then add concrete to the top of it and then dig out underneath. People all over the world could use the process whether they had only pics and shovels or large bulldozers. We also want to collect the water and create a cistern, planting local food producing plants that are natural in the desert that won’t attack the system. The idea is to create a mini- oasis in the desert.
Z107.7: Is this a project that you want to create with others?
SMALL: Yes, I’m hoping to generate interest within the community and invite anyone interested in joining the project to do so. Part of my reason for teaching the class is to get locals to get to know me, feel comfortable around me and hopefully meet people who share my interests and want to get involved.
Z107.7: Is there anything else you’d like to let people know about your class or project?
SMALL: Well, if you look me up on the internet you’ll find that I’m a bit of an outsider, but also that I’m a pretty high-profile architect. There’s not many chances for students to get the chance to work with a world famous teacher. It’s a chance to get a class at a bargain that has a very high level of quality. I’m an easy-going guy and I like people I look forward to interacting with the community. I’d like to get support on projects and possibly create a sort of movement in this direction. I’m restarting my life here in the desert and I’m hoping for interaction and to get to know people, that’s what this is all about.
The Architectural Patterns class at Copper Mountain College begins this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p. m. for more class information visit www.cmccd.edu. For more information and to volunteer on the green- living project, email the instructor at [email protected].
