Tuscaloosa and New Orleans might have few features in common, but at least one noted sustainability advocate sees one similarity — an opportunity.
Steve Mouzon, an architect, urabanist, author and photographer, will address UA’s master planning committee, City of Tuscaloosa planners and UA’s environmental stewardship committee over the course of two days.
The presentations are centered on his personal experience rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina and focus on the benefit’s of rebuilding sustainably. Mozoun feels that the recovery efforts in Tuscaloosa from the April 27 storms could offer Tuscaloosa an opportunity to rebuild more environmentally friendly and sustainable structures.
“If you take a tragedy and use it to rebuild structures better than they were before, it’s a transformative opportunity,” Mouzon said.
Dan Wolfe, University planner and designer, said he believes the presentations are of interest to both the Tuscaloosa community and UA students.
“A lot of people can benefit from this, if you are interested in the campus or development,” Wolfe said. “Steven is a really talented guy who has done neat projects all over the country. Anyone who is interested in the environment and the development and future of the campus and other development would really benefit from hearing him talk.”
The speech will take place in Lloyd Hall Room 321 at 10 a.m. Presentations are open to students, faculty and the community.
Mouzon is a renowned architect who heads Mouzon Design with his wife, Wanda. He is also a founding member of the New Urban Guild, a group of architects, designers and other new urbanists who are committed to studying traditional buildings that are inspired by the places in which they are built.
The group was crucial in the creation of Katrina Cottages, a concept for building high-quality, small-scale homes that began as part of the Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts. The second generation of these Katrina Cottages, Katrina Cottage VII, was awarded a Chapter Award by the Congress for the New Urbanism.
He is also notably involved in other projects promoting smarter, smaller and more sustainable living. Mouzon is the author of two books: “A Living Tradition (Architecture of the Bahamas)” and “The Original Green,” a book laying out the idea of sustainability in simple terms.
He has also contributed to a number of other publications and is the author of the Useful Stuff Blog and the Original Green Blog.
Many UA students are excited about the potential for more sustainable buildings on campus and hope that Mouzon’s presentation will promote a more environmentally conscious mindset throughout the UA community
“If you talk with anyone who is environmentally conscious, they’ll probably tell you that they’re more interested in sustainability rather than renewability,” said Kirkland Back, a sophomore majoring in English. “The sustainable building plans are going to benefit our campus in so many ways, namely in their contribution to the health of our environment and in the attention they will bring to new environmental movements.”
Wolfe said he encouraged all students to attend Mouzon’s presentations in order to gain insight on the future of our campus and architecture as a whole.
“He’s an interesting guy with fascinating things to say,” Wolfe said.
