This is why monitoring matters.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency provides yet another example of why healthy, smart buildings that measure, monitor and respond to environmental conditions are critical to our children’s future.

Typical U.S. Commercial Building Site


Typical Project FROG Building Site

The way we build takes too long, costs too much, creates too much waste and is too destructive to the environment – but hey, it makes for pretty pictures in magazines!

You think you have heard this before? Well let’s consider a little side-by-side comparison:

I have been fortunate to practice as an architect around the world on projects of some significance: schools, hospitals, corporate research centers around the US as well as new towns in Indonesia, downtown Ho Chi Min City and even a refugee center in SE Asia. While very diverse, my experience revealed a few strong common threads -- including the extent to which good design can improve lives. It can enable learning, improve our health, enable productivity and inspire culture and improve the natural environment.

But too often, these opportunities are missed.