Tailgate: Art Ludwig, Integrated Systems Designer
This Californian is known for his work with gray-water systems, but he actually sees them as part of a bigger picture—a better way to build houses and to think about the way we live.
What got you interested in ecological systems design?
I feel like I was born this way. I am equal parts wild man, technologist, and businessman, which is an unusual combination. I guess my essential nature forced me to get into integrated design. Having these three orientations under one hat, I pretty much had to get them all to work together.
My family moved from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara when I was 8. From stuff I wrote at the time, even at 8, I sensed how wrong that level of megacity impact was on the environment. This motivated my early interest in systems for living better with less use of resources.
How did you get yourself ready for what you’re doing?
In college, I studied a wide range of things, everything from welding and machine shop to calculus, chemistry, physics, molecular cell biology, anatomy, physiology, marketing, writing. It was frustrating to me for a long time that I didn’t feel like I was good at any one thing. And then in my late 20s, I started getting good at lots of different things.
I can have an intelligent conversation with almost any specialist and understand their objectives and limitations, and what helps them do a good job, whether it’s the solar electric guy, or the solar hot-water guy, the plumber, the carpenter, the ditch digger who speaks only Spanish, the architect, the engineer. Then I can get us all headed for the same goal-post, and get our pieces to fit together well.
Also, I learned a lot from living in contexts that required extreme conservation and made me really realize the value of water: mountain biking where there was no water, living in villages where there was no water.
Finally, I’ve learned a great deal from watching how nature manages water in pristine wilderness. My “understanding water” curriculum progresses from (1) observing a pristine natural water cycle, to (2) participating in a pristine natural water cycle while visiting, as in backpacking, to (3) permanent camping, which is similar to how many people live in nonindustrialized villages and is my favored way to live, to (4) building systems for a lifestyle that is closer to what we’re used to in this country, but more natural, sensible, and sustainable.
What’s your favorite type of project?
One where it’s possible to have input on all the project aspects simultaneously so that I can get the integration going, and one where the client is willing to engage in lifestyle change. This is my prerequisite before I will work with anyone. If they say, “Make my house green, but I don’t want to have to change one bit about the way that I live,” I’m not interested. I’ve managed to avoid working on a single McMansion, even though it would triple my income to do so.
For more about Art Ludwig’s work, visit his Web site, www.oasisdesign.net.
