His lecture (to the NZ Institute of Architects on 11 September 2007) went further and became also a history of the last thirty years of environmental design from the point of view of a person in the field trying to make sense of it all. His personal journey took him from building biology through sacred geometry to continuous experimentation with rammed earth or stone. Rather than the usual sustainability preaching he discussed with good humour the discovery and delight of buildings giving form to stories and dreams.
When everyone else now seems to be writing either codes or performance standards to enshrine the continued failure of our built environment Alan left the feeling that the only certainty about tomorrow is that it will be different.
Published in Block, the Broadsheet of the Auckland Branch of the NZIA, 10 2007
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