Forum features expert on sustainable building

SALISBURY — Can architecture help you lead a greener life? Bruce S. Fowle thinks so.

Tomorrow night at The Hotchkiss School’s Walker Auditorium in Lakeville, Fowle will tell an audience at the Salisbury Forum about sustainable architecture, or the techniques and design of “green building.�

In 1995, Fowles’ firm, FX Fowle Architects, designed the first “green building,� the Conde Nast building in Manhattan’s Times Square. It’s now also home to Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, the highest-grossing law firm in the world, a fitting tribute to the evolution of the green movement “from Birkenstocks to pinstripes,� Fowle said.

Now most new office buildings in New York strive for a high rating from The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System.

Senior principal of FX Fowle, and a pioneer of sustainable architecture, Fowle co-founded his firm in 1978 on the philosophical basis, he said, that architecture must be “conscious and respectful of context and utility while enriching the human experience.�

Since that time, he has guided his firm to international recognition for excellence in design and environmental responsibility. His work has earned the firm awards, including a 2001 National Honor Award for Design, the highest honor that the American Institute of Architects bestows on a project, for the Conde Nast building. Ranging from private residences to cultural/educational institutions and large-scale multi-use complexes, Fowle’s work has been published worldwide.

As a longtime proponent of environmental conservation, Fowle helped guide his firm to a leadership position in sustainable design. He will present his thoughts on environmentally sensitive design and its application to local building challenges.

The forum will begin at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free.