A New Pallet for the Scribe of Humanity

SOLAR DEVELOPMENT COOPERATIVE

Lighting the Way With Creation's Original Remedy

Eileen M. Smith, M. Arch. Founder & CEO

A New Pallet for the Scribe of Humanity

From the time of cave dwellers to the construction of massive marble skyscrapers, humanity has evolved shelter with the natural elements of the earth. Historically, architecture has served the dual purpose of shelter as well as communications from the drawings of tribal activities on the stone walls of ancient civilizations to the stone carvings and paintings of the religious stories in western architecture. The art of communications in architecture has evolved over centuries while the complex science of the architecture in communications technology has evolved over several decades. Today, architects are building a new bridge to the future as we bring the dream of sustainable electricity into reality through a new role for building envelopes as solar electric semi-conductors. Computer motherboards made from high-grade silica sand is the primary competitor with building-integrated photovoltaics (BI-PV) for refined silicon materials.

In 1896, Thomas Edison was giving away light-bulbs in West Orange New York to encourage customers to utilize the new technology of electricity. In one hundred short years, earth's humanity has become significantly dependent on the use of electricity for a variety of needs from lights to appliances to the modern scribe's stone -the computer. Further, patterns of large-scale dependency on electricity are being established in 3rd World Countries in an attempt to evolve a quality and healthy standard of living.

Pollution, hazardous waste and environmental erosion are significant global problems created with the use of fossil, nuclear and hydro fuels. These fuels continue to dominate global deployment of electricity even in newly established energy infrastructures of 3rd World Nations despite the growing concern about externality expenses of these fuels and their depleting nature. In the United States, electricity consumption continues to be dominated by the Big Three of fossil, nuclear and hydro fuels. All other forms of electricity consumption including sustainable fuels increased only 0.1% from 0.5% in 1972 to 0.6% in 1994. During that same twenty years, coal consumption nearly doubled in the United States while photovoltaics (PV) slowly emerged as a new and sustainable electricity technology. PV has become more efficient and reduced in cost from $500 watt to under $5 watt in 1990 due to significant research and development efforts; and the introduction of its dual-use as a building material.

Architects will play an important role in the evolution of the building-integrated photovoltaics (BI-PV) industry as a sustainable source of electricity consumption as well as reliable building materials. This diverse semi-conductor technology is a new pallet for the scribe of humanity as it evolves the use of clean sustainable electricity in the United States and global marketplace. Orange County, California has the potential role of an industry leader in the formation and quality of this silicon building-integrated photovoltaic (BI-PV) industry domestically, and globally. The fact that BI-PV will provide sustainable clean electricity is only an immediate promise of these semi-conductor building materials. Imagine that if you will!

Submitted November 14, 1997 for publication to carolyn660@aol.com:

IF-In Focus - An Architectural Review of Orange County