Architecture of Respect
My architectural philosophy is built on a foundation of respect.
I respect materials in the broadest possible sense, including their origins and fate, which is why I am dedicating my current work to developing sustainable building practices using ecologically sound principles. I am committed to designing buildings that consume minimal nonrenewable resources within their lifetime.
I respect cultural history, which is why I have worked on projects to restore older buildings and neighborhoods, as well as on projects that acknowledge and include various cultural populations within our region. I am committed to pricing my firm’s designs so that our work is available to clients who share our values, regardless of the size of their income.
I respect personal history, which is why I have chosen to work with my father, artist James Hubbell. His life and work have been an ongoing source of both inspiration and pride, especially his deep care for the creative spirit in all its manifestations and his attunement to the language of landscape.
I respect the fundamental role of art in the practice of architecture, the way integrating an artistic use of natural shapes and materials can nourish the spirit through a feeling of connection with the earth.
I believe in respect for nature, including human nature. Besides my commitment to using environmentally sustainable practices and technologies, I feel strongly that architecture is a profession in which the team is an essential element in every design. I do not want to accept full credit for any projects without acknowledging the people who helped bring those projects to fruition.
I believe in respect for the human spirit. Our first duty as architects is to create spaces that celebrate the excitement and mystery of our world in ways respectful of nature’s laws, as well as in ways that connect people to nature’s nourishing beauty.
Hubbell & Hubbell Architects focuses on respect for each client, attempting to provide each one with the best design possible while working not only within their budget, but also within a framework of profound respect for our planet and the natural resources found here.
~Drew L. Hubbell, Architect
Design for a New World
Can we build structures using natural, renewable materials, structures that harmonize with the land on which they are built? As an intern architect in the late 80s, I became aware of the great amount of natural resources buildings require, there was a need for architects and builders who are sensitive to nature. We need to build energy efficient sustainable structures, considering how each choice we make holds ramifications for the earth. A recent study shows that the U.S. building industry creates roughly half of America’s energy consumption and half of its green house gas emissions. Cars and trucks, by comparison, do roughly 1/6th as much damage.
Growing up in a family that put nature’s needs on the same level as our own, I developed a deep appreciation for the earth. Our family built small buildings out of local materials found on and made from the land. We learned to recycle and conserve energy from a very young age. These lessons are ingrained in the psyche and a part of my being. Read more >>
~Drew Hubbell, Architect
October 17, 2003
Architecture of Jubilation
It is my belief that we are passing through a gate from one age to another perhaps more profound than the changes medieval man faced with the rising of Humanism and the age we call the Renaissance. We have spent the last five hundred years trying to understand the world by dividing it into parts. We are now at the task of putting our world back together. We are seeking a vision of a whole world, with ourselves as part of the whole.
Have you ever watched the millions of stars in the sky on a moonless night, or seen the wind waver over a field of grass, or noticed the dust at play in a shaft of light, or felt the warmth of another’s hand..someone you cared for? This is where architecture must come from. Architecture must take measure of all that it is to be human in a world that is whole. It must take count of our galaxy and of a smile and somehow learn to interpret and express our new world in walls, doors and roofs.
It is not that economics and function are not important but that they no longer express the whole man. They no longer express who we believe ourselves to be. We must add our love, our history, our metaphysics. We must add the wind, the sun and the call of the hills. Our buildings must learn to express all that we contain, for now we are a whole world.
I have heard astronomers talk about the music of the spheres. I have heard this music described as a song of jubilation. Perhaps this is a word for our coming age, a time of coming together, of coming back to the whole.
We need an Architecture of Jubilation to sing of it!
~James Hubbell, Artist
Excerpted from a self-published collection of poems and essays: Architecture of Jubilation: The Poetry of Our Lives and What We May Choose To Build by James Hubbell (2001).