Redford’s new direction

Film star’s house takes the lead in sustainable living It’s a 1917 clapboard house in Santa Monica, California - and it’s not a film set, although it features furniture from a Hollywood studio. It’s what movie star and director Robert Redford, a long-standing environmental activist, sees as “a showcase of sustainable urban architecture”. The three-storey house was stripped down to its wooden skeleton and the exterior replaced by clapboard made from a fibre and cement material. Bamboo, a fast growing wood substitute, was used for the floors and the carpets are made from hemp. Some of the furniture was donated by Warner Bros’s props department. Skylights illuminate much of the interior, and one-fifth of the power required by the energy-efficient fixtures comes from solar cells. Sea breezes augment the air conditioning and special towers draw heat. Water is recycled from the showers and sinks. Rainwater is used to flush the low-flow toilets and water the plants, while the urinals are waterless. The 15,000-square foot structure requires around 60% less water than similar buildings. The building is free of formaldehyde and vinyl: office machines that can emit fumes are confined to a room that vents to the outside. Cutting a green ribbon to dedicate the Robert Redford Building, which will be an office base for him and the National Resource Defense Council, Redford said: “This building to me is a model of our sustainable future.” - Alison Winward

14 March 2004

Alison Winward