Former student explains her green approach
to architectural design in Chronicle interview

Donna Kacmar, a former Texas A&M architecture student, emphasized her commitment to a “green” approach to architectural design in an interview with the Houston Chronicle’s Louis B. Parks.

Kacmar, recently elevated to the American Institute of Architects’ College of Fellows, is a principal of architect works inc. and an associate professor at the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture at the University of Houston.  She received a Bachelor of Environmental Design degree in 1988 and a Master of Architecture degree in 1992 from Texas A&M.

She told Parks educating clients and builders about a sustainable approach to design can be a challenge.

“Some clients don’t want to be educated,” she said. “Some builders don’t want to be educated … your site may be a piece of land in Houston, Texas, but in a larger context it’s on this planet, so we have to understand the things that function on this planet. What are the resources we have? How does the sun move, how does wind move?

She told Parks she tries to practices sustainability as a way of life.

“I live in a small house, do recycling, do cleaning with nonhostile chemicals. I try being aware when I make purchases,” she said. “My students keep me honest. You don’t want them catching you. You have to practice what you preach.”

The interview is available on the Chronicle’s website at www.chron.com

- Posted: March 2, 2009 -