Perspective: The Great Chicago Fire and Environmental Sustainability

Perspective

In October, 1871, in small barn on Chicago’s Southwest Side, Mrs. O’Leary’s cow kicked over a kerosene lantern. The tinder-dry wood-frame building ignited in a fire that destroyed half of Chicago. Devastating fires were not new to our nation, but this was exceptional. Something had to be done. We had to begin building structures that would resist fires and other disasters (the San Francisco earthquake, a few decades later, amplified this call for action). A whole infrastructure had to be created: What constituted fire-resistant construction? How could strength properties be tested and the results integrated into building standards? Who would oversee such efforts?

Today we find ourselves in an analogous situation relative to the environment. Instead of putting our immediate lives in danger, our buildings may be putting future generations in danger as our environment suffers the stresses of pollution, loss of biodiversity, and global climate change. The need to develop building technologies and materials that impart minimal damage to the environment is becoming ever more clear. But we don’t have the infrastructure or the information in place to permit informed decision-making. In many cases, we don’t even know the right questions to ask.

As they did with fire-resistant construction standards, the American Institute of Architects is playing a leadership role in developing standards for environmentally sustainable construction (see page 14), but we have a long way to go. And other groups, such as the National Association of Home Builders, must join the effort if it is to be broad-based and effective. Let’s not wait for another Chicago fire.

— Alex Wilson