{"id":2162,"date":"2026-07-07T22:40:35","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T22:40:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/?p=2162"},"modified":"2026-07-07T22:40:36","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T22:40:36","slug":"what-it-means-to-save-a-brick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/what-it-means-to-save-a-brick\/","title":{"rendered":"What It Means to Save a Brick"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Ellen Mitchell, AIA, interviews Joe Ross, AIA, about what sustainability in rural Texas can tell us.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In some parts of the country, the renewable energy revolution can be very abstract and invisible. Not so along the Red River, which is the dividing line between Texas and Oklahoma. In this area, there are wind turbines as far as the eye can see, and solar arrays spread across pastureland. Small, rural school districts receive new tax revenue while neighbors debate what development means for the land they love.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The region shows that sustainability isn\u2019t always a theoretical climate debate. Sometimes, people experience it as a fundamental change to their community\u2019s sense of place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I was reminded of that in a recent conversation with architect Joe Ross, AIA, of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/gbakerarchitects.com\/\">GBA Architects<\/a>, who lives and practices in Wichita Falls, Texas. Ross has a background that includes education at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and time at a leading design firm in Dallas. But ultimately, he chose to return to the area known as Texoma to be closer to family and for a level of professional continuity that surprised me.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The work, he told me, isn\u2019t as different in Texoma as people might assume. The context is what changes most: the constraints, the pace, and the way people prioritize what matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I went into our conversation expecting to hear from Ross that the sustainability discussion can be politically fraught. After all, this part of Northwest Texas sits close to the fault lines of energy culture: a history of oil and gas, rural land ownership, and conservative politics meet the undeniable rise of utility-scale wind and solar. But Ross\u2019 perspective was far more nuanced and, honestly, more hopeful than I might have expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sustainability, in his experience, isn\u2019t automatically controversial. In fact, he described it as having a generally neutral, if not positive, perception. The political lightning rod is more often tied to the term \u201cclimate,\u201d especially when someone introduces it in a way that feels like an identity rather than a problem to solve. That distinction\u2014between sustainability as a practical matter and climate as a polarizing signal\u2014became one of the most revealing themes of our conversation.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Renewables are about land use, not just energy policy&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When Ross talked about wind and solar, he didn\u2019t talk about them as symbols. He talked about them as projects that create real impacts and force real tradeoffs. The conversation in this part of Texas cannot be boiled down to being \u201cfor or against\u201d renewables. It\u2019s more grounded than that. It\u2019s about how large-scale infrastructure changes the landscape, who it benefits, and what it disrupts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of Ross\u2019s most interesting observations was that solar and wind energy don\u2019t face the same perception. Solar seems to have \u201ca better lane to run in,\u201d Ross said, because it is less visually disruptive, easier to ignore from a distance, and, perhaps most importantly to the communities in which it sits, provides a sense of reversibility. A solar field has a lifespan, and once it is decommissioned, the fallow land can be restored back to agricultural uses. That \u201csunset provision,\u201d along with money set aside for deconstruction, helps calm people who are worried about the permanence of transformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wind is a harder sell. Its infrastructure is taller, more visible, and virtually impossible to ignore, especially with its blinking red lights disrupting the dark sky. Even people who appreciate the economic benefits may feel that wind turbines change the character of the place in a way that solar does not. In other words, acceptance isn\u2019t just about energy\u2014it\u2019s about how visible, permanent, and personal that energy feels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Conservation as &#8220;do no harm&#8221;&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another theme that quickly emerged was around conservation, which Ross described as a widely shared value in more rural communities. People care deeply about the land, and the baseline expectation is simple: Just don\u2019t make things worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That \u201cdo no harm\u201d philosophy may sound modest compared to the urgency of global emission reductions. But it\u2019s also a powerful point of entry. It\u2019s an ethic that doesn\u2019t require ideological alignment. It doesn\u2019t demand that everyone share the same worldview about climate change. It asks for something more immediate and more universal: respect for what is already there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Ross\u2019s framing, that respect shapes both environmental conversations and design decisions. It shows up in how communities respond to large-scale development. It shows up in how clients think about open space. And it shows up, perhaps most tangibly, in the way people value existing buildings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Reuse isn\u2019t a sustainability strategy\u2014it\u2019s a practical one<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When I asked Ross what sustainability meant for his practice, I expected to hear about resource conservation primarily. Instead, one of the strongest threads in his interview was around building reuse, not branded as a sustainability move but as a practical and often emotionally driven choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ross described clients with buildings that, in another context, might be dismissed as \u201ctoo far gone.\u201d But in his world, there is a different instinct: Let\u2019s keep as much as we can. He made a point that stood out for its simplicity: Saving a brick is saving a brick. That line carries an entire worldview. It doesn\u2019t need carbon accounting to justify it. It\u2019s an anti-waste mantra that is largely missing in today\u2019s single-serve culture. It\u2019s a poignant refusal to discard what still holds value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the more rural parts of Texas, reuse is often more successful precisely because it\u2019s voluntary. Owners want it. They choose it. They feel attached to their buildings, and that emotional attachment outweighs the potential additional costs. That emotional buy-in can be the difference between a project that survives budget pressures and one that collapses under them. People are more willing to stretch when they feel their building matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Sustainability as process, not performance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ross said that when he talks to clients about sustainability, he focuses on process rather than persuasion. That involves asking \u201cinnocent\u201d exploratory questions: What\u2019s your budget? How many square feet? And somewhere in the middle: What are your sustainability goals?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The sustainability question isn\u2019t a demand or a statement of ideology. It is simply a question that creates room for the client to communicate what matters to them. For some clients, that might mean renewable energy. For others, it might mean water conservation, efficient planning, or simply not overbuilding. Ross\u2019s practice shows that sustainability often advances through small procedural shifts: a formal documentation of project goals, a kickoff meeting that includes consultants, or a specification that introduces construction waste management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From my conversation with Ross, I took away a vision of sustainability as stewardship\u2014a concept less about an ideology and more about staying grounded in a sense of place. He is practicing in a region where progress is impossible to ignore. Wind and solar aren\u2019t abstract ideas here; they\u2019re a reality that brings revenue and opportunity while also altering views, land use, and the feel of home. That tension\u2014between conserving what people love and living amid large-scale transformation\u2014may be one of the most honest sustainability stories architects can tell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yet at the same time, Ross\u2019s perspective reminds me that the future of sustainable design won\u2019t be shaped only by bold new technologies. It will also be shaped by the quieter decisions: saving a brick, keeping a building, and respecting what\u2019s already there. And in places like Texoma, that kind of thinking may be the most durable form of progress possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em><em>Ellen Mitchell, AIA is\u00a0<em>the director of sustainability &amp; applied research at\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/lpadesignstudios.com\/\"><em>LPA Design Studios<\/em><\/a>\u00a0and the 2026 chair of the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/communityhub.aia.org\/communities\/community-home?CommunityKey=3b790506-aca5-4eff-aaf6-8a7b553dc0ef&amp;_gl=1*2e8au9*_gcl_au*MTMwMTc5MjExNC4xNzY4NTAzNzE5\">Committee on the Environment<\/a>. This article is part of a series that Mitchell hopes will bring more voices to the sustainability conversation, originally published in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aia.org\/aia-architect\/article\/what-it-means-save-brick-sustainability-texoma\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">AIA Architect<\/a>\u00a0on May 11, 2026<\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ellen Mitchell, AIA, interviews Joe Ross, AIA, about what sustainability in rural Texas can tell us.\u00a0 In some parts of the country, the renewable energy revolution can be very abstract and invisible. Not so along the Red River, which is the dividing line between Texas and Oklahoma. In this area, there are wind turbines as [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-preservation-renovation","category-process"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What It Means to Save a Brick - Columns - AIA Dallas<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/what-it-means-to-save-a-brick\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What It Means to Save a Brick - Columns - AIA Dallas\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ellen Mitchell, AIA, interviews Joe Ross, AIA, about what sustainability in rural Texas can tell us.\u00a0 In some parts of the country, the renewable energy revolution can be very abstract and invisible. Not so along the Red River, which is the dividing line between Texas and Oklahoma. In this area, there are wind turbines as [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/what-it-means-to-save-a-brick\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Columns - AIA Dallas\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-07T22:40:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-07T22:40:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Conleigh Bauer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Conleigh Bauer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.aiadallas.org\\\/columns\\\/what-it-means-to-save-a-brick\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.aiadallas.org\\\/columns\\\/what-it-means-to-save-a-brick\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Conleigh Bauer\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.aiadallas.org\\\/columns\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/99bbd0ffb39edeb3cec493b4b9a7ad2b\"},\"headline\":\"What It Means to Save a Brick\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-07T22:40:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-07T22:40:36+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.aiadallas.org\\\/columns\\\/what-it-means-to-save-a-brick\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1335,\"articleSection\":[\"Preservation\\\/ Renovation\",\"Process\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.aiadallas.org\\\/columns\\\/what-it-means-to-save-a-brick\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.aiadallas.org\\\/columns\\\/what-it-means-to-save-a-brick\\\/\",\"name\":\"What It Means to Save a Brick - Columns - AIA Dallas\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.aiadallas.org\\\/columns\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-07T22:40:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-07T22:40:36+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.aiadallas.org\\\/columns\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/99bbd0ffb39edeb3cec493b4b9a7ad2b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.aiadallas.org\\\/columns\\\/what-it-means-to-save-a-brick\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.aiadallas.org\\\/columns\\\/what-it-means-to-save-a-brick\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.aiadallas.org\\\/columns\\\/what-it-means-to-save-a-brick\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.aiadallas.org\\\/columns\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What It Means to Save a Brick\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.aiadallas.org\\\/columns\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.aiadallas.org\\\/columns\\\/\",\"name\":\"Columns - AIA Dallas\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.aiadallas.org\\\/columns\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.aiadallas.org\\\/columns\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/99bbd0ffb39edeb3cec493b4b9a7ad2b\",\"name\":\"Conleigh Bauer\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/6d2fada0b8eacca3973a24ed55e6a47d4fe262ef3ea65062f7dcc495ca8a404a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/6d2fada0b8eacca3973a24ed55e6a47d4fe262ef3ea65062f7dcc495ca8a404a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/6d2fada0b8eacca3973a24ed55e6a47d4fe262ef3ea65062f7dcc495ca8a404a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Conleigh Bauer\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.aiadallas.org\\\/columns\\\/author\\\/\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What It Means to Save a Brick - Columns - AIA Dallas","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/what-it-means-to-save-a-brick\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What It Means to Save a Brick - Columns - AIA Dallas","og_description":"Ellen Mitchell, AIA, interviews Joe Ross, AIA, about what sustainability in rural Texas can tell us.\u00a0 In some parts of the country, the renewable energy revolution can be very abstract and invisible. Not so along the Red River, which is the dividing line between Texas and Oklahoma. In this area, there are wind turbines as [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/what-it-means-to-save-a-brick\/","og_site_name":"Columns - AIA Dallas","article_published_time":"2026-07-07T22:40:35+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-07-07T22:40:36+00:00","author":"Conleigh Bauer","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Conleigh Bauer","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/what-it-means-to-save-a-brick\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/what-it-means-to-save-a-brick\/"},"author":{"name":"Conleigh Bauer","@id":"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/#\/schema\/person\/99bbd0ffb39edeb3cec493b4b9a7ad2b"},"headline":"What It Means to Save a Brick","datePublished":"2026-07-07T22:40:35+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-07T22:40:36+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/what-it-means-to-save-a-brick\/"},"wordCount":1335,"articleSection":["Preservation\/ Renovation","Process"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/what-it-means-to-save-a-brick\/","url":"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/what-it-means-to-save-a-brick\/","name":"What It Means to Save a Brick - Columns - AIA Dallas","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-07-07T22:40:35+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-07T22:40:36+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/#\/schema\/person\/99bbd0ffb39edeb3cec493b4b9a7ad2b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/what-it-means-to-save-a-brick\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/what-it-means-to-save-a-brick\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/what-it-means-to-save-a-brick\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What It Means to Save a Brick"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/","name":"Columns - AIA Dallas","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/#\/schema\/person\/99bbd0ffb39edeb3cec493b4b9a7ad2b","name":"Conleigh Bauer","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6d2fada0b8eacca3973a24ed55e6a47d4fe262ef3ea65062f7dcc495ca8a404a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6d2fada0b8eacca3973a24ed55e6a47d4fe262ef3ea65062f7dcc495ca8a404a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6d2fada0b8eacca3973a24ed55e6a47d4fe262ef3ea65062f7dcc495ca8a404a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Conleigh Bauer"},"url":"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/author\/\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2162"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2162\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2168,"href":"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2162\/revisions\/2168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}