Guest Speaker Juliet Whelan, February 4th 2010

During our February 4th meeting, we were pleased to host guest speaker Juliet Whelan. Ms. Whelan is part of Jibe Design, a Philadelphia-based contemporary architecture and construction firm. The company is committed to design excellence and environmentally friendly solutions. Their specialty (and Juliet's passion!) is sustainable architecture.

Also known as "green architecture", the discipline focuses on designs that:

• Have the smallest possible impact on the environment
• Employ reusable materials
• Take great steps to reduce energy usage

Examples of sustainable architecture include:

• Use of windows permitting ambient light instead of excessive interior lighting
• Use of newer highly insulated glass and structural materials
• Use of automatic-shutoff, motion-sensing interior lights
• Designs that take the structure's location, orientation, and landscape into account

We sure learned a lot about architecture that evening. Coupled with a healthy dose of environmental responsibility, we all came away reminded about how we can make the world a better place even in our own living spaces.