Joeb Moore + Partners Interview, 173 Park St. New Canaan, CT

[SarahRobert100]

interesting discussion going down. i think in general it is great that people do think about sustainable design more and more in this part of the world, where houses blow up as much energy as propably nowhere else in the world. And this even though it would be so easy to build sustainable houses. especially in CT, where the solar radiation is amazingly high...

But i still don't think that people that buy such a house walk all those distances he talks about;)

[taliesen1953]

"verbal masterbation"....I like that. this architect seems to have a good handle on that.

[thosfrench]

to tacoma 46:

Perhaps if you need to be nasty, you'd have the courage to identify yourself?

Joeb deserves credit for achieving LEED status, which takes a lot of effort, regardless of the price tag. Greenness comes in many forms, and if wealthy folks in New Canaan want to become early adopters, isn't that progress?

Thomas French

Thomas French Architect, P.C.

[tacoma46]

The epitome of pretentious greenwashing & postrationalization. The "performer" (architect) takes basic design principles and attempts to spin them as some new and fresh approach. This is just repackaging a design into a fresh marketing pitch for a nice, expensive, spec house.

This grandstanding gobblygook unfortunately projects architects as elitist verbal masturbators. Step out of your social vacuum and join the real world, Jebber.

[rogersmithnews]

@tacoma46 It is actually quite an interesting property in the middle of New Canaan. It breaks the mold of what you might expect from this area. What do you expect from a sculptural building as such. In a way "The Performer" is describing it as if it were a work of art. It is meant to provoke. Thanks for commenting.

[thosfrench]

To tacoma46: I don't know how many massive homes are built every year with no green aspirations whatsoever, but the short answer would be "most". Rich people by and large do not actually want to live in smallish unpretentious dwellings that I guess you might consider more politically correct. As for the intellectualization, selling an expensive house requires some salesmanship, and you may not appreciate it, but Joeb is laser-locked on his market.

Thomas French

Thomas French Architect, P.C.