3. Malcolm Wells’ Goals:
An architect from New Jersey later moved
to Cape Cod
83 years old when he died
Teacher of environmental design at
Harvard
He set 15 goals for his own work in 1971
Some were to “use and store solar
energy, to consume their own waste, to
provide wildlife habitat and human
habitat, and to be beautiful.” Boston Globe
4. A Change of Heart:
Became an architect in 1953
He designed a pavilion for RCA in The
World’s Fair in New York.
Malcolm realized that just 2 years after
putting the pavilion up it would be torn
down.
He started to notice the concrete
footprints that all of his designs left
behind.
Wells developed his theory on gentle
architecture
5. Eco- Friendly (gentle)
Architecture
After Malcolm set these goals he made his
designs eco- friendly.
Some designs were partially borrowed in
the ground or had sky lights to suit the
landscape they were on.
7. Earth Roofs
“In general, his roofs were covered with
layers of earth, suitable for gardens or
other green growth.” Boston Globe
His Art Gallery was covered in soil and
grass.
9. Eco- Friendly at Heart
Malcolm Wells on bridges: “It is a land-
killer, a dead footprint on land or water. To
last for centuries, to provide a sheltered
roadway, to serve all creatures and to
present a living surface to the sky, a bridge
must have a roof and a deep covering of
earth.’’
10.
11. Gentile Architecture
After designing concrete parking lots
Malcolm realized he wanted to preserve the
land that they were built on
Decided upon gentile architecture:
Designed his own underground home and
office
Wrote three books: “Gentle Architecture’’
(1981), “Infra Structures’’ (1994), and
“Recovering America’’ (1999).
Taught his ideas to his students at Harvard
12. Citation
Weber, Bruce. "Malcolm
Wells, 83, Advocate for `gentle
Architecture'." Boston Globe: 10. Dec 07
2009. Boston Globe. Web. 19 Sep. 2012 .
