The 21st century requires a new vision of architecture and of our relationship to planet Earth.

In order to properly sustain ourselves as a people, we Americans must see how we are interconnected to all peoples of the Earth. Not only in a “global economy” but in a global family.

NASA’s famous photo of the Earth as seen from the moon should become our guiding image. It will enable us to see that we are already in outer space — aboard a magnificent and ancient spaceship. As Buckminster Fuller said, the only difference between the Earth and a regular spaceship is that we have not found the operation manual yet.

We must envision the life support systems of the Earth as resembling those of a spaceship we need in order to reach the nearest star. Each generation will complete one leg of the journey, and our ultimate destination will be reached by our grandchildren’s grandchildren. In order to complete the journey, each crew must sustain the ship and leave it in excellent condition for the next crew.

If we treated the Earth as a spaceship, we would treat her in the proper way and maximize the sustainability of ourselves and other species.

An important way to actualize this vision is constructing environmentally-sustainable, energy-efficient buildings now. This is why Watrous Associates Architects is committed to creating state of the art, super-insulated, passive solar Sun-Earth Homes and other energy-efficient buildings.