Sustainable design and the environment
The HWS Student Architecture Society presents, the first annual architecture Weekend.
This year’s theme is: Sustainable design and the environment.
Straw-Bale Construction Workshop
Introduction by Prof. Stanley Mathews,
faculty advisor to the Hobart and William Smith Colleges Architecture Student Society
This year's event would not have been possible without the dedication and hard work of student leaders: Jenny Breck, Maria Barbieri, Eric Dori, Genica Brietenbeck, Liz Terry, Allie Fries
In planning this event, the architecture students wanted to explore the integral relationship between architecture and the world around us. Therefore, they decided that the theme of this year’s event should be Sustainable design – an exploration of the practical implementation of environmentally sensitive building.
Our guest is Ed Paschich (father of Wristen Paschich '04). Ed has been building dwellings that incorporate sustainable concepts since 1976. His houses use sustainable construction techniques, and take advantage of solar and other alternative energy sources. He has designed and built 180 passive solar houses, four tire houses, and one straw bale house. With each house, he experiments with innovative techniques to save water and energy and with a range of renewable materials.
Ed is president and owner of Ed Paschich Homes in Corrales, New Mexico, a suburb of Albuquerque. He learned all the different building trades while working his way through the University of Texas at Austin during the early seventies. Ed analyzed materials and developed construction over the years that are now considered mainstream in the industry. He has experimented, improved his skills and methods and developed specific ways to be more in tune with the environment.
Ed has published his ideas and methods in three books: Tree Homes, The Tire House Book and Mainstreaming Sustainable Architecture: Casa de Paja.
Ed’s innovative ideas have been the subject of many local and regional newspaper articles. He has lectured at the AIA convention at New Mexico State University, at the Straw Bale Association of New Mexico in Santa Fe, the Institute for Earth Education convention in Tucson, and the New Mexico Energy Conversion Commission. He has also helped to define building code requirements for sustainable architecture for the State of New Mexico.
Ed feels that the principles and practices of sustainable architecture will enjoy more widespread acceptance as homeowners become convened that that they can preserve comfort and style while living in an environmentally friendly home. At the same time, he has come to appreciate the key role played by government policy and regulation in encouraging sustainable design practices.