Distinctly Montana Magazine

ARCHITECT and suburban sprawl. It is rare that these same concerns are addressed within architectural practices. In Bozeman we are facing many big-city issues, the same issues that if left unattended will grow into larger problems. Architecture students would be well served to study the classics and consider what comprises timeless design, buildings that will stand for generations, perhaps cen- turies. Academia would also benefit by exploring this history and the basic premises built over thousands of years of architecture. Beauty, proportion, utility, and scale have taken a back seat to the digital image and the stylized form of material. As a culture we seem to have traded quality for expediency. You mention "the green movement." Do you see a strong relation- ship between landscape and design? The word "sustainable" implies usefulness over a long period of time. When the green movement grabbed hold there was little talk of longevity, when in fact that is the greatest pay-off. The current market-driven economy builds INTERVIEW WITH KEITH ANDERSON a depreciating asset with a life span of 20-25 years, at which point it becomes too costly to maintain and cheaper to build anew. The dark side of this is the wasteful use of mate- rials, while cheap buildings continue to clutter our land- scape. What will the Gallatin Valley look like in 200 years? The green movement has been with us for many years: one need only look to the pueblo dwellings of the south- west and the efficient center chimney cape to see that we have long struggled with energy concerns. However, green energy applications are being codified and measured with too little benefit, because they are laden with paper work and costs that the average citizen cannot afford. To incen- tivize energy conservation, it needs to be made accessible. So, is this simply a result of a fiercely market-driven economy, or due more to the advent of technology and reliance on CAD (com- puter-aided design) and excessive specialization? Is architecture dying as an art form? Like medicine and law, architecture has become over- burdened with licensing requirements, insurance regula- www.distinctlymontana.com 61

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