Healing Buildings

Grayson Highland State Park

What would it mean to create “healing buildings?”  I believe that well-designed buildings make people more productive, protect their health and can support a positive, hopeful attitude.  But I’ve always seen the role of the human-made physical environment in a passive, “first-do-no-harm” kind of way.  Having grown up in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley, I find what humans build to be a pale imitation of the mountains, fields, forests and streams crafted by God.  The story arc of God interacting with His creation begins in the Garden of Eden but ends in a new city – the New Jerusalem.  So maybe there is a role for building that goes beyond mere shelter and utility and includes healing the brokenness we all have in some form.

The person who got me thinking about this, again, is Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms. Utilizing nature’s template for farming, their approach recognizes the inter-connectedness found in growing healthy, wholesome plants and animals.  Their website proclaims that they are in the business of, “healing the land, healing the food, healing the economy, and healing the culture.”

Green roof at Nationals Park, Washington, DC

There is an analogous way of thinking about how and what we build. Most of the green building movement is about limiting the damage done by modern building methods.  I believe we can move beyond a “limiting damage” mentality to one where what we choose to build and how we go about it can make us better people.  It begins with question, “Do we need to build?”  If the answer is yes, then come discussions about scale and context – what does the size and locations of our building(s) say about our values and priorities?  The techniques we employ should harness the natural forces of sun, wind and rain and utilizing these forces, not overcoming them with brute force -- making us constantly aware of the cycles of the natural environment – a connection with creation that can be healing.  Such questions are only the beginning; the conversation can and should go on.

By more carefully considering what and where and how we build we will inevitability question our values and purposes – discussion that can transform communities and culture.  The act of building can be either be an expression of our brokenness as human or demonstration of our faith and hope in a redemptive future.

Buy Local

Friendly City Food Co-op -- Designed by Blue Ridge Architects and constructed by Harman Construction

The Friendly City Food Co-op just opened in Harrisonburg.  While an emphasis on organic foods caters to my wife’s concern for our health, I like knowing that much of the food is from local sources. Locally-sourced food requires less energy, chemicals and “extraordinary measures” to get to my table The money I spend is more likely to be re-spent locally benefitting the local economy and local government. Design and construction work the same way. When you use local contractors, architects and engineers, you get increased accountability and a more economically stable community.

Financing, designing and constructing a building is ripe with opportunities for the participants to manipulate and, in some instances, rip-off each other.Working with people you went to school with, see at soccer games and church or for whom you want to work again, creates a built-in protection against fraud.  There still needs to be a disciplined approach to contracts and project management. Familiarity can also create a “good ol’ boy” system that benefits a select group of business persons at the expense of the whole community. But in an area like the Shenandoah Valley, reputations are hard-won and tradespeople and professionals work hard to protect them with consistent high quality, value-added work.

 If you hire an architect or contractor from a distant area your fees go to supermarkets, golf courses, gas stations, banks, etc. in another community. The taxes paid by out-of-town experts go to other local governments to fund their roads, schools and police departments.Their donations go to charities that do not benefit the needy in your town.

It’s easy to believe your local professionals can’t possibly have the knowledge, experience and skill to help your business. Often being able to hire a national expert validates that your company or organization has “arrived.” But even if your local architect doesn’t seem to have what you need, teaming a national expert with a local professional is a good way to make sure you get the cutting-edge knowledge with local service and location-appropriate application.  

Contact Blue Ridge Architects. You’ll be surprised at the level of experience available right here in the Shenandoah Valley and the relationships we’ve built through 23 years of practice. Through careful team-building we can deliver market-leading expertise delivered with local accountability.