Not sure if you saw this open letter in the Opinion section of the New York Times today…but it would be in your best interest to read it if you present yourself and being a ‘Green Architect’…

Too often, we are pushed by our industry to think that we don’t have much to offer and/or compete with if we don’t go LEED…there’s a general feeling that future prospects won’t even think of considering working with an architect if he or she is not certified in of some sort of Green Organization…Really???

If you want to do Green Architecture, great! But you have to realize that it doesn’t mean that this is what all your potential prospects want from you, or any for that matter….so you better be ready to explain why you believe it will be good for them…not for you!

Here’s the link for the open letter…

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/20/opinion/20Appelbaum.html

I especially like this part of the letter from Alec Appelbaum;

“To be fair, the council never meant for its system to be a seal of green approval. Rather it was to be a set of guidelines for architects, engineers and others who want to make buildings less wasteful. However, developers quickly realized that its ratings — certified, silver, gold or platinum — were great marketing tools, allowing them to charge a premium on rents.”

Yes, it is a marketing tool and it is up to you to use it the right way; meaning to gain new clients…if you are not aware of what most people outside our field do think about LEED projects, well, you probably will loose more clients than get new ones!

Let me knwo what you think!