At the same time, downtown living began to in-
crease in popularity, especially among singles and
childless couples, both those who had no children
and those whose children had grown and left home.
From modest apartments to luxury condominiums,
housing for downtown dwellers offered residents
quicker commutes in many cases, access to richer
cultural and entertainment experiences, and often a
more economically and racially diverse environ-
ment.
Smaller and Greener While the size of most new
houses increased, interest in smaller homes was be-
ginning to flourish. Residential architect Sarah
Susanka was a leader in this movement. Susanka
wrote several lavishly illustrated books that showed
how privacy, comfort, and amenities could be pro-
vided in compact, well-planned homes. Her designs
also promoted energy efficiency and the use of safe
and healthy building materials. In part this reflected
another growing movement, that toward more eco-
logically sound buildings in general. Smaller homes
were less expensive to build, maintain, heat, and cool.
Sustainable or “green” architecture was a new
field in which ambitious architects could create ex-
citing designs. This architectural philosophy encom-
passes not only using energy, water, and materials
more efficiently but also reducing the impacts of
buildings on humans and the environment. Green
architects consider such factors as siting buildings to
take advantage of natural heating and cooling and
to disturb as little as possible the natural surround-
ings; lowering ongoing operation and maintenance
costs; and reducing waste and pollution, in both con-
struction and operation. Green buildings use more
natural construction materials to improve indoor air
quality, and their architects often attempt to incor-
porate recycled wood and other salvaged products48 Architecture The Nineties in America
Architect Richard Meier stands in front of the Getty Center, whose buildings he designed. The Los Angeles complex, including the J. Paul
Getty Museum, opened in December, 1997.(AP/Wide World Photos)