Tom Bender
Encyclopedia
Tom Bender is one of the American founders of the "green architecture" and "sustainability" movements.
His research, writing, and architectural design since the 1970s has embraced the relatively new field of solar architectural design. Bender was an associate professor of architecture in the University of Minnesota
.
Like Amory Lovins
and some other modern analysts, Bender has subscribed to the reduction of energy usage (often through the decrease of on-site energy wastage) rather than a massive increase of centralized energy-production facilities in a society.
Tom Bender moved west to Oregon, where he served as an energy researcher for Governor Tom McCall
during the 1970s energy crisis
.
During that decade, Bender was also the co-editor of RAIN: A Journal of Appropriate Technology, and among the theorists and practitioners of the "green" approach to planning and design, has been a popular essayist since that time.
In the 1970s as well, Bender began to develop what he has termed "Factor 10" economics.
These are principles of design
and planning
that he asserted will achieve order-of-magnitude improvements in economic effectiveness and sustainability.
These principles have received interest from governments of Austria, the Netherlands, and Norway, as well as endorsement by the European Union
, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, and UNEP.
He and his wife, Lane deMoll, co-founded NeahCasa. He lives on Neahkahnie Mountain
.
Life
He began to make his mark in the early 1970s as an architect, author, and strategic planner. He has since been visible also as a writer in the emerging field of green economics. He has also studied and written about traditional architectural philosophies of Asia.His research, writing, and architectural design since the 1970s has embraced the relatively new field of solar architectural design. Bender was an associate professor of architecture in the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
.
Like Amory Lovins
Amory Lovins
Amory Bloch Lovins is an American environmental scientist and writer, Chairman and Chief Scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute. He has worked in the field of energy policy and related areas for four decades...
and some other modern analysts, Bender has subscribed to the reduction of energy usage (often through the decrease of on-site energy wastage) rather than a massive increase of centralized energy-production facilities in a society.
Tom Bender moved west to Oregon, where he served as an energy researcher for Governor Tom McCall
Tom McCall
Thomas Lawson McCall was an American politician and journalist in the state of Oregon. A Republican, he was the 30th Governor of Oregon from 1967 to 1975. A native of Massachusetts, he grew up there and in Central Oregon before attending the University of Oregon...
during the 1970s energy crisis
1970s energy crisis
The 1970s energy crisis was a period in which the major industrial countries of the world, particularly the United States, faced substantial shortages, both perceived and real, of petroleum...
.
During that decade, Bender was also the co-editor of RAIN: A Journal of Appropriate Technology, and among the theorists and practitioners of the "green" approach to planning and design, has been a popular essayist since that time.
In the 1970s as well, Bender began to develop what he has termed "Factor 10" economics.
These are principles of design
Design
Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...
and planning
Planning
Planning in organizations and public policy is both the organizational process of creating and maintaining a plan; and the psychological process of thinking about the activities required to create a desired goal on some scale. As such, it is a fundamental property of intelligent behavior...
that he asserted will achieve order-of-magnitude improvements in economic effectiveness and sustainability.
These principles have received interest from governments of Austria, the Netherlands, and Norway, as well as endorsement by the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, and UNEP.
He and his wife, Lane deMoll, co-founded NeahCasa. He lives on Neahkahnie Mountain
Neahkahnie Mountain
Neahkahnie Mountain is a mountain on the Oregon Coast, north of Manzanita in Oswald West State Park overlooking U.S. Route 101. The peak is part of the Northern Oregon Coast Range, which is part of the Oregon Coast Range...
.
Awards
- California Affordable Housing Award (1981)
- Sustainable Community Solutions international competition award (the American Institute of Architects & International Union of Architects, 1993)
- National Award for Sustainable Design (AIA Architecture and Energy Program, 2001)
- Top 10 Green Buildings (2002) from the AIA for his Bank of Astoria project in Manzanita, OregonManzanita, OregonManzanita is a coastal city in Tillamook County, Oregon, United States. It is located on U.S. Route 101 about 25 miles south of Seaside and 25 miles north of Tillamook. The population was 564 as of the 2000 census.-History:...
.
Books and other media
- "The five horsemen of our apocalypse", Daily Astorian, 6/11/2009
- "SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS: ECONOMICS, ARCHITECTURE, AND BANKING", GreenMoney Journal, Spring 2010
- Environmental Design Primer, 1973.
- Silence, Song & Shadows, 2000.
- Building with the Breath of Life, 2000.
- Learning to Count What Really Counts: the Economics of Wholeness, 2002.
- Building with the Breath of Life, DVD and video, 2003.
- The Cave Temples of India, DVD and video, 2004.
- The Physics of Qi Energy, DVD, 2007.