Op-Ed

Remembering Three Gentle Giants

BuildingGreen’s longtime friend and collaborator Ann Edminster shares her reflections on the lives of three green building pioneers.

 A man standing outdoors and drawing on a sketch pad propped on a wooden fence.

Sim Van der Ryn during his first visit to the future site of the Real Goods Solar Living Center in Hopland, California

David Arkin, AIA, Arkin Tilt Architects
The green building community suffered a tremendous threefold loss in October 2024 with the deaths of Matts Myhrman on October 15, David Goldstein on October 18, and Sim Van der Ryn on October 19. The departures of these three hit me particularly hard because all of them were important figures in my professional journey and green building pantheon.

Studying with Sim—a former California State Architect—was one of the highlights of my master’s program at UC Berkeley; I was remarkably lucky to have him as a studio instructor in the fall of 1993, his last semester teaching. With a wry sense of humor and a ready laugh, Sim was a great teacher because he encouraged exploration and created outstanding design challenges for us. Thanks to John Hoag, my green comrade and (unbeknownst to me until this week) a fellow student of Sim’s, for this perfect summary: “Sim was so modest about himself and his contributions. As we remember and honor him, and as we rerun the contributions, the chapters, and the memories of his quiet brilliance and leadership, Sim's legacy glows brilliantly. Sim walks with us all in our union with nature and beauty and in our responsibility to live in the world with wisdom, care, and love."

Matts was notable for playing a major role in fostering the strawbale building revival, and I met him shortly after starting at UC. To further my study of natural building methods, I made a pilgrimage to the Southwest to see built examples and meet the pioneers in this revival. Matts and his late wife, Judy Knox, warmly welcomed me into their home and generously shared

A combined photo of a husband and wife couple with white hair and a close up of a man with a bushy greying beard and straw hat

Left: David Goldstein and Julia Vetromile, his wife

Right: Matts Myhrman

Photos: TDock / David Bainbridge
their research and experience with me and a host of others over decades. Our mutual friend David Eisenberg captured his essence: “Matts’ curiosity, his incredible sense of humor, his varied skills and interests, and his willingness to try things, figure things out, do research, and his persistent wisdom were ever-present. He is going to be missed but not forgotten by a huge number of people.”

David was one of the energy rock stars at the Natural Resources Defense Council when I started there in 1997 (as I was writing Efficient Wood Use in Residential Construction). We didn’t interact much initially, but as my focus shifted to energy and emissions, we began to cross paths regularly. I became very fond of David because of his unfailing kindness and willingness to share his encyclopedic knowledge and formidable network. Nehemiah Stone, another pillar of the California energy scene, has aptly described David as “a giant in the energy efficiency world [leading] the charge on so many groundbreaking codes and standards innovations and efforts. He will be sorely missed.”

As will they all. I remember them with immense gratitude for their generosity of spirit, keen intellects, and above all, for their immeasurable contributions to the commons we all share.

Published November 4, 2024

Edminster, A. (2024, November 4). Remembering Three Gentle Giants. Retrieved from https://www.buildinggreen.com/op-ed/remembering-three-gentle-giants

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Comments

November 6, 2024 - 2:12 pm

On a whim, as a political science student at college, I bought his book The Integral Urban House, about self-relient urban living. It fascinated me, and ultimately led me to pursue architecture. I still have and enjoy the book.

November 7, 2024 - 2:38 am

David was my boss at NRDC for the few years I was there. He was as many others have remembered him--generous with his time and wisdom and zero ego. All of that made him a great mentor. Our 2012 ACEEE paper proposing a whole life carbon definition of net zero carbon (written for the CPUC and CEC) which included transportation-related emissions was prescient--even if those state agencies rejected it for complexity and scopes outside their purview.

But for those who haven't heard of David: His nearly 50-yr career improved utility grids, building energy codes and home appliance standards. It's not hyperbole to suggest he made your fridge more efficient, determined your home's insulation requirements and the grid serving it all more resource efficient. For these reasons and more he received a MacArthur Foundation fellowship in 2002.