Comments on: OLIN Part of Winning Design Team for U.S. Embassy in London http://dirt.asla.org/2010/03/03/olin-part-of-winning-design-team-for-u-s-embassy-in-london/ Connecting the Built & Natural Environments Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:37:16 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Earth Designs http://dirt.asla.org/2010/03/03/olin-part-of-winning-design-team-for-u-s-embassy-in-london/#comment-2140 Fri, 05 Mar 2010 11:02:51 +0000 http://dirt.asla.org/?p=4002#comment-2140 Echo the thoughts above – interesting concept and high profile project – it will be interesting to see its development

]]> By: Georgia http://dirt.asla.org/2010/03/03/olin-part-of-winning-design-team-for-u-s-embassy-in-london/#comment-2124 Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:03:02 +0000 http://dirt.asla.org/?p=4002#comment-2124 This proposal has received a lot of coverage. I hope The Dirt will follow the project’s progress.

]]> By: Lynn Dawkins http://dirt.asla.org/2010/03/03/olin-part-of-winning-design-team-for-u-s-embassy-in-london/#comment-2114 Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:08:41 +0000 http://dirt.asla.org/?p=4002#comment-2114 Congratulations to OLIN and their design partners for their reflective (literal and metaphorical) design. The only criticism I offer doesn’t pertain to the design intent, but to the economic sustainability of the project itself.

Personally, I am sick of landscape architects (and other design professions) championing government spending as long as it pertains to projects within their scope of work.

So what if the government pumps millions of dollars into green infrastructure in a few locations at the expense of all small businesses?

This is actually a disservice to the sustainable movement. I may have a misguided view of what the sustainable movement really is; Is it not frugality? To limit the amount of waste? To minimize environmental impact? To provide future savings through quality of product? Since when did we leave out economic sustainability?

As designers, OLIN and their partners seem to have exceeded sustainable expectations, and for this they should be applauded.

But…

For just a moment, think of all of the designs that will never be implemented with the spending of this $1 Billion.

Let us build this great movement from the ground up by providing slow stable growth and the possibility of future investment. If we build the green movement on borrowed money, it will fail to meet our moral responsibilities as stewards of the land.

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