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Sim Van der Ryn

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Sim Van der Ryn is an American architect. He is also a researcher and educator. Van der Ryn's driving professional interest has been applying principles of physical and social ecology to architecture and environmental design.[1]

Van der Ryn has promoted sustainable design at the community scale and the building-specific scale. He has designed everything from single-family and multi-family housing, to community facilities, retreat centers and resorts, to learning facilities, as well as office and commercial buildings.

Biography

Van der Ryn's family left the Netherlands during World War II, settling in Kew Gardens, Queens, then eventually Great Neck, New York. Sim grew up with a sense of closeness with nature and a fascination with its details. He got his training in architecture at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and obtained state architecture licenses and national architectural certification.

Van der Ryn was appointed California State Architect in the administration of Governor Jerry Brown in the late 1970s,[1] during which time he developed the United States' first government-initiated energy efficient office building program and led adoption of energy standards and disability access standards for all construction in California.[citation needed]

In the 1970s Van der Ryn founded the Farallones Institute which helped to create national awareness of "ecologically integrated living design." The Farallones Institute designed, built and managed an urban and a rural research/teaching center for studying appropriate technologies, energy-efficiency, organic agriculture, land restoration, community design and ecologically sustainable energy and waste systems, design and construction. The urban center was called the Integral Urban House. Van der Ryn later founded the Ecological Design Institute (EDI), Van der Ryn Architects' non-profit partner, which carries on this work.

"The worst thing you can do is keep making no changes," Van der Ryn once said while addressing an assembly of architects. "That's where the risk lies." Given America's dependence on foreign oil, he has proposed (as an instance), that energy security is one of the country's greatest challenges and the status quo won't do. U.S. companies, he believes, would pay more attention to "green" buildings if their operational costs for energy bills were calculated on the same balance sheet as construction costs.

Van der Ryn has reported he has noticed, while driving around the United States, that many builders seem to pay no attention to one of the cheapest ways to save on energy bills: positioning the house on its site to maximize passive solar heat.

Sim Van der Ryn has been presented with numerous honors and awards, including: the Goff Chair of Innovative Architecture, University of Oklahoma (2001); Fellowship of the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts (1997); Rockefeller Scholar in Residence, Bellagio, Italy (1997); the President's Award for Planning, American Society of Landscape Architects (Colorado Chapter); Arbolera de Vida Master Plan, Albuquerque, New Mexico (1997); the Nathaniel Owings Award, California Council American Institute of Architects (1996); a Commendation for Excellence in Technology, California Council American Institute of Architects (1981); and a Guggenheim Fellowship (1971).

Van der Ryn is in the architecture faculty at the University of California, Berkeley. He lives in California.[citation needed][2]

Early life

Sim Van Der Ryn is an American architect who was born in 1935[3] (age 85) in the Netherlands[4][circular reference], sim and his family escaped possible Nazi prosecution[5]. SVDRs family decided to reside in Queens, New York, then arranged to move to Great neck, NY and finally resided in Long Island[6].

Career

Sim van der ryn didn’t find himself much in urban cities and continuously affiliated his interactions with nature.[7] Upon that, it was evident for him to continue his education at the University of Michigan, Ann arbor, graduating at the age of 24 with a degree in B.Arch., in 1958.[8] During that year Sim moved to California and joined the UC Berkeley faculty where he became an educator for 35 years.[9] Later in his career, he was listed as a sate architect in California and New Mexico. Sim also, became a licensed architect where he received a certification by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB).[10]

Teaching career

  • Associate Professor, University of California, Berkeley, (UCB), Berkeley, CA, c. 1966-1970.[10]
  • Professor, University of California, Berkeley, (UCB), Berkeley, CA, c. 1966.[10]
  • Professor Emeritus of Architecture, University of California, Berkeley, (UCB), Berkeley, CA, c. 2019.[10]
  • Goff Chair of Innovative Architecture, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 2001.[10]

Professional efforts

Sim’s vision has always been to include ecological values and philosophies to the built environment. He introduced new academic intervention programs through elementary schools in Berkeley, California One of the programs motto was “trash can do it” this method of recycling materials would encourage students to utilize resources through a new approach. The hands-on methods of understanding allowed students to grasped a real-life perspective of different materials and convert them to environmentally functional projects. The program Created opportunities to enhance and develop manual, intellectual and social skills. They have created and established a do it yourself guideline to rectify educational systems.[11]

Sim had an innovate and unconventional approach to teaching. In his classes he insisted on creating a more balanced force between male and female candies. He persisted with this criteria and was able to create a more equal environment for all future professionals. His vision towards Architecture was to provide women with similar opportunities as men instructing to accept equal applicants of men and women in the early 70s. “Outlaw builder studio” was a significant platform for sim van der ryn to demonstrate his new ecological and solar architecture where his students develop building and social skills. Students created, designed and built accordingly to their need while living in the outdoors for at least three days of the week. Later on, some of the projects were taken down because they didn’t meet building codes and requirements. This was met with some scrutiny in his teaching career from his peers and other professionals.[12]

Energy pavilion was a followed project in the early 70s. This project provided the first mainstream booklet on solar architecture. Students were able to construct an early design of solar panels. This energy efficient design was a futuristic outlook in ecological and environmental architecture. At the time of this project the world was witnessing the dilemmas of the oil crisis. Sim encouraged his studio to connect with the surrounding environment and maintain a cohesive approach in design.[13]

Projects

  • State of California, Energy Resources and Conservation and Development Building, Sacramento, CA[14]
  • State of California, Department of Justice, Office Building #1, Sacramento, CA 1977-1978.[15]
  • State of California, State Office Building, Sacramento, CA, 1977-1978[15]
  • State of California, Water Resources Control Board Building, Sacramento, CA[15]
  • State of California, State Office Building, San Jose, CA[15]
  • The Ojai Foundation School Ojai, CA.[16]
  • Green Gulch Zen Center Muir Beach,[17][circular reference] CA[18]
  • Real Goods Solar Living Center Hopland, California, 1996[19]

Art Work

Sim desired to become a painter he believed that design is a gate to understand ourselves through nature. He taught different watercolor classes to his students and found it to be meditative state. Sim also found it to be a starting point for a designer to integrate with nature and begin to collaborate with it.[20]

Awards

  • Recipient, Guggenheim Fellowship, 1971.[21]
  • Recipient, American Institute of Architects, California Council (AIACC), Commendation for Excellence in Technology, 1981.[22]
  • Recipient, AIACC, Nathaniel Owings Award, 1996.[23]
  • Recipient, Rockefeller Scholar in Residence, Bellagio, Italy, 1997 and 2012.[24]
  • Fellowship, Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, Chicago, IL, 1997.[25]
  • President's Award for Planning, American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA Colorado Chapter) for the Arbolera de Vida Master Plan, Albuquerque, NM, 1997.[26]

Publications

  • Van der Ryn, Sim and Stuart Cowan (2007). Ecological Design, Tenth Anniversary Edition. Washington, DC: Island Press. ISBN 978-1-59726-1418
  • Van der Ryn, Sim (2005). Design For Life: The Architecture of Sim Van der Ryn. Layton, UT: Gibbs Smith. ISBN 978-1586855307
  • Van der Ryn, Sim and Stuart Cowan (1996). Ecological Design. Washington, DC: Island Press. ISBN 1-55963-389-1
  • Calthorpe, Peter and Sim Van der Ryn (1986). Sustainable Communities: A New Design Synthesis for Cities, Suburbs and Towns. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books. ISBN 0-87156-629-X
  • Van der Ryn, Sim and the Farallones Institute, Helga & William Olkowski (1982). The Integral Urban House. NY: Random House. ISBN 978-0871562135
  • Van der Ryn, Sim (1978). The Toilet Papers. Santa Barbara, CA: Capra Press. ISBN 978-0884961215

Van de Ryn also contributed a foreword to the book Handmade Houses: A Guide to the Woodbutcher's Art by Art Boericke and Barry Shapiro.

  • Van der Ryn, Sim (2013). Design for an Empathic World: Reconnecting People, Nature, and Self 2nd None ed. Edition. ISBN 978-1610914260
  • Van der Ryn, Sim (2013). Culture, Architecture and Nature: An Ecological Design Retrospective 1st Edition. ISBN 041583967X
  • Temko, Allan, “California’s New Generation of Energy Efficient State Buildings”,AIA Journal,66: 13,50-56,12/1977.
  • Lencher, Norbert,Heating Cooling Lighting, Design Methods for Architects, 450-455,1991.
  • Bednar, Michael J., Interior Pedestrian Places, 131,1989.
  • “Getting Architects Involved Community Action”, Journal of the American Institute of Architects, 46:5,89,11/1966.
  • Stein, Benjamin, Reynolds, John S., Mechanical and Electrical Equipment for Buildings, 259-265,1992
  • Woodbridge, Sally, “Governing Energy: California State Office Building”, Progressive Architecture, 56:4,86-91,04/1984
  • “An architect child of the’60s whose time has come”, Seattle Times, Sect I:16,10/22/2005.
  • Brown, G.Z., DEKAY, Mark, “Mechanical Mass Ventilation”, Sun, Wind & Light, 284, 288, 2001.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Roberts, Jennifer (November 2007). "The Sim". Dwell. pp. 112–116. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
  2. ^ http://simvanderryn.com/sim-architect
  3. ^ http://contentdm.marinlibrary.org/digital/collection/VanderRyn
  4. ^ Netherlands
  5. ^ http://simvanderryn.com/
  6. ^ http://pcad.lib.washington.edu/person/2558/#biopersonal-collapsable
  7. ^ 2008. Sim Van Der Ryn - Pioneer Of Green Architecture.
  8. ^ https://www.taubmancollege.umich.edu/alumni/distinguished-alumni-honorees
  9. ^ https://ced.berkeley.edu/ced/faculty-staff/sim-van-der-ryn
  10. ^ a b c d e http://pcad.lib.washington.edu/person/2558/
  11. ^ 2015. Design Radicals.
  12. ^ 2015. Design Radicals.
  13. ^ 2015. Design Radicals.
  14. ^ http://pcad.lib.washington.edu/building/13595/
  15. ^ a b c d http://pcad.lib.washington.edu/building/12956/
  16. ^ http://simvanderryn.com/ojai
  17. ^ Green Gulch Farm Zen Center
  18. ^ http://simvanderryn.com/blank3
  19. ^ https://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/greenbuilding/casestudies/retail/realgoods#:~:text=Completed%20in%20April%201996%2C%20the,Highway%20101%20and%20Fetzer%20Vineyards.
  20. ^ Piont Reyes Light, 2013. Sim Van der Ryn and the architecture of empathy. [online] Available at: <https://www.ptreyeslight.com/article/sim-van-der-ryn-and-architecture-empathy> [Accessed 10 March 2013].
  21. ^ http://simvanderryn.com/
  22. ^ http://pcad.lib.washington.edu/person/2558/#biopersonal-collapsable
  23. ^ http://pcad.lib.washington.edu/person/2558/#biopersonal-collapsable
  24. ^ http://pcad.lib.washington.edu/person/2558/#biopersonal-collapsable
  25. ^ http://pcad.lib.washington.edu/person/2558/#biopersonal-collapsable
  26. ^ http://pcad.lib.washington.edu/person/2558/#biopersonal-collapsable
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