Barack Obama's (brief) shout-out to green architecture

Though Tom Brokaw didn't ask any questions about cultural policy during last night's second presidential debate, as my colleague Christopher Knight hoped he might, Barack Obama did touch on the subject of green architecture. Buried in the senator's response to a question about what sacrifices the candidates would seek from citizens "to restore the American dream," it was a brief digression. It was also a rather surprising one, given the debate's relentless and understandable focus on the still-unfolding financial crisis.

"Each and every one of us can start thinking about how can we save energy in our homes and in our buildings," Obama said. He went on to suggest that government could be more active in providing incentives for Americans to "weatherize" their houses.

Such questions can be tricky to handle. Contemporary politicians are keen to avoid the example of Jimmy Carter, who was ridiculed in 1977 after advising Americans to put on a sweater -- he favored a cardigan, and aren't those coming back into style? -- instead of turning up the thermostat during the cooler months.

Carter was also the first president to combine eco-friendly architecture and politics in a significant way. In 1979, he installed solar panels on the roof of the White House. During Ronald Reagan's second term, they were taken down to facilitate some roof repairs and never reinstalled. They are now on display at the Carter Library in Atlanta.

--Christopher Hawthorne

Photo credit: Anthony Jacobs / Getty Images

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[Steffen]

An original solar panel of the Carter White House was also shown earlier this year at the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal as part of its exhibition "1973: Sorry, Out of Gas". The show explored the architectural response to the oil crisis, and alongside the panel included photographs of the Carter press conference on the White House roof - a scene impossible to imagine today. One of these almost surreal photos can be found in the "sun" section on the exhibition website:
http://www.sorryoutofgas.org/