Quite a while ago I found this elegant hilltop luxury house with green technology (the latter being of interest for me).
"The Hilltop House in Rancho Santa Fe, is a perfect sample of timeless luxurious architectural masterpiece, especially designed to maximize the 360 degree views from its hilltop location and offers an amazing panoramic breathtaking views nestled on a private & gated 2 acre pinnacle setting in Rancho Santa Fe. (continue to read...)"
(original image source from http://www.momoy.com)
In the description you can read that this "house" contains "6 bedroom suites, 8 baths, office tower, library, and media room with nearly 10,000 square feet of luxury living, plus patios, terraces, and 6 car garages".
What rang a cord in me was the question in one comment "can you still call it ‘green technology’ after using so much of wood?" And the realtor's answer was "The wood for this house was purchased from Canadian Wood Specialties. Their specialty is log salvage. (continue to read ...).
This is definitely a beginning but is it a true change of mind and attitude towards environment? Well - I doubt that.
I know that in some areas of this world space is not an issue at all because there is plenty of it but does man really need that much space to live in? Does true environmental awareness not include the attitude of practising more modesty instead of spending more, using more, building bigger etc.?
What about habitat of wildlife that is destroyed irretrievably even if it is "only" desert land? I mean this one estate is using more than 87.000 sq ft of land?
This house uses several pools not only one. Isn't this questionable in a semi-arid region where precipitation reaches only 15.24 inches per year? The list would be endless of all those arguments which definitely speak against "green".
What a shame that "green" is only used again as a cheap excuse and sanction... I am disappointed...
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You bring up some very interesting points. "Green" is becoming an overused word that (in many cases) is just being used to market yet another consumer product. There is a difference between true luxury and gluttony!
ReplyDeleteS+S
Seraph + Splendor - thank you so much for your thoughtful comment. I wished more people would not just copy senselessly some buzzwords such as "green" but think about it what it really means.
ReplyDeleteAnd "yes" - I think in most cases luxury is interpreted the wrong way - as you pointed it out - it does not necessarily mean to have "more" of everything.
The house is beautiful, but I agree, I can't see how it can be called green. OK, the wood is salvaged and that's a good thing. But like you pointed out, what about the multiple pools and the overall excess of such a big house?? And you're right, it's taken away land that was probably home to lots of little critters.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your thoughts on Echo House. You brought up some interesting points about it :-)
Kelly
Thank you Kelly for your thoughts about this. Yes - not only this house is demonstrating a lot of excess. It makes me sad that people do not understand that we cannot go on like this. Of course I understand the concept of consumerism and economy. But the materials are not balanced and wrongly shared - too much to a few and too less to too many.
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