Page 54 - Green Builder Magazine Jul-Aug 2021

under a licensed architect, I passed my
license exams. Soon after, I started my
BY SAM RASHKIN
own architectural practice, excited to
This is Sam Rashkin’s first in a series
specialize in energy-efficient housing.
of articles based on his second book,
Timing is everything. It was the late
“Housing 2.0: A Disruption Survival
1970s and the economic gods intervened.
Guide.” It is intended as a roadmap for
On the heels of two oil supply disruptions,
high-performance builders to become the
mortgage interest rates soared to 20
most successful in the industry.
percent, effectively killing interest in
residential projects. After being forced to
HIS ARTICLE IS ABOUT
T exhausting) journey it commercial and urban renewal projects,
THE EXTENSIVE (and
diversify my practice with less-appealing
took to get to Housing 2.0
I decided to pursue an alternative career
— a journey that goes all
path that would allow me to focus on
housing and energy efficiency. I secured
the way back to my first
day of kindergarten, when
a list of the nation’s 100 biggest builders
and sent each a letter, prospecting for
to drawing and
I took
playing with toy
blocks
like a fish takes to water.
efficiency in their homes. The results
of my efforts were a full-day interview
Somehow, at this young age, I surmised a jobs focused on integrating energy
connection between these two proclivities with one builder and a psychological
and the work of an architect. How I did profile test with another, but no job in the
that remains a mystery to me, but as housing industry. Eventually I secured a
a result, “architect” became my go-to position managing energy efficiency and
answer whenever adult relatives asked renewable energy programs for the State
what I wanted to be when I grew up. of California. On the side, I developed
an architectural practice where I again
At 6 years old, I had an after-school play
Know date with a friend who introduced me to
a toy called “Girder and Panel.” It was an
ingenious set of plastic pegs resembling
steel columns and beams that could be
assembled like a structural frame on a
Your panels that resembled curtain walls. Since
pegboard base and finished with plastic
my parents did not believe in toys, I fina-
gled frequent invitations to this friend’s
house, and would spend joyous hours cre-
ating skyscrapers. To be clear, I genuinely
‘Why’ toy even more.
liked this friend, but admittedly, I liked his
By age 12, I was sketching and designing
homes. I even built a cardboard model
dream home for my best friend’s parents,
as if they were architectural clients.
When allowed to select an elective course
Understand the reasons in middle school, I chose mechanical
drafting and continued to make this my
for your construction elective of choice each year through 12th
goals and you’ll be grade. I went to college and completed
my Bachelor of Architecture degree. An
happier and more elective course during my last semester,
on solar energy and energy efficiency, Design element. For Sam Rashkin, the classic
successful than ever. established a complementary passion for “Girder and Panel” construction set was a catalyst
sustainable buildings long before it was for a long, successful career in energy efficiency-
fashionable. After three years working based architecture. CREDIT: RON FRAZIER/FLICKR

52 GREEN BUILDER July/August 2021 www.greenbuildermedia.com/housing-2.0