Design Guild Award Honors Gail Lindsey

D E S I G N G U I L D A W A R D

Design Guild Honors Green Architect Gail Lindsey

Gail Lindsey, FAIA, makes being green easier for all of us. Lindsey passionately strives to improve the way architecture serves society through sustainable design. Born in Japan, Lindsey has lived all over the world. She attributes her passion for sustainability to both her global perspective and a prolonged hospitalization as a young adult. While in the hospital, Lindsey spent a lot of time thinking about how she wanted to use her time. She’s added her own phrase to a popular activist saying, coming up with: “Think globally, act locally, commit personally.”

And commit she has. Collaborating with the US Green Building Council, Lindsey was instrumental in establishing Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), the nation’s first green building rating system. Based on six major areas: building materials, water quality, energy, indoor air quality, site and area/community, the system awards points to reach specific certification levels. LEED has made a significant difference in the sustainability of both public and private design. For example, the General Services Administration (GSA) now incorporates a high LEED standard in all of its new federal buildings.

Lindsey has pioneered work in collaborative green charrettes, setting a new “green” course for many federal agencies and organizations. Charrettes she’s worked on include the White House, the Pentagon, the Grand Canyon, and the Habitat for Humanity headquarters. She’s been sought as a consultant by the Department of Defense to develop green bases of the future, by the Department of the Interior to “green” the national park system, and by the Department of Energy to exchange information with 25 countries on performance metrics. Lindsey has lectured all over the world and was a visiting lecturer for the College of Design. She’s been asked to present at every national convention of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) since 1995 and has chaired the national AIA committee on Gail Lindsey, FAIA

the Environment. She was recognized as a fellow of the AIA in 2000.

At home in Wake Forest, Lindsey practices her own brand of green architecture through her firm, Design Harmony, which she founded in 1990. She designed her own environmentally conscious residence and, of course, drives a hybrid. A Walt Whitman quote inspires Lindsey as she works: “Re-examine all that you are told…dismiss that which insults your soul.” Lindsey’s energetic enthusiasm is unflagging as she travels the world and shares approaches to sustainable design. The Design Guild is scheduled February 26 to honor Gail Lindsey’s extraordinary contributions to our green earth.