Lynn Underwood

Green Story

"While there are many shades of green, all green homes are better homes," confirms Lynn Underwood—and as the building official for Norfolk, Virginia, he should know. "Green homes consume fewer natural resources and deliver high energy efficiency while avoiding unnecessary damage to the site," he says. "They last longer and live better because they're designed to meet your needs, instead of being designed to be large."

Those aren't words one might expect from a building official. But Underwood asserts that the building code can help those who would build green. "My profession has a long history of accepting and embracing the movement toward green building and environmental sustainability," he affirms. "You can see it in black and white on page 2 of the 2006 International Residential Code (R104.11)."

This willingness to help the building trade employ sustainable methods stems from his upbringing, Underwood says. "I grew up on a farm and ranch and learned to conserve materials, avoid waste, and to respect the soil that sustained our family’s livelihood," he explains. "We avoided overtaxing the land. We were cautious about garbage and waste. We knew it was the right thing to do."

Those early lessons were reinforced when Underwood served a tour of duty in war-torn Vietnam as a U.S. Marine. "Waste was unheard of there," he recalls. "South Vietnamese citizens scraped their earth for simple survival." Then, when Underwood returned to New Mexico and began college, he met a young woman who suffered from an ailment caused by air pollution. "Together we organized the first-ever antipollution effort with consciousness-raising," Underwood remembers. "I even got the local mayor in Las Cruces, New Mexico, to sign a proclamation declaring it to be Clean Air Week in 1972." The death of his friend left Underwood with a zeal for environmental health issues.

"To me, green building means leaving a small environmental footprint while providing a safe, durable building that will endure natural forces such as wind, seismic events, and flooding" Underhill says. "Green building means beginning at the design stage with thoughtful consideration for all of the elements that provide a safe, comfortable home. It means making use of renewable natural resources. It's smart site selection and proper orientation. It's selecting the materials that provide the most durability while bringing the least harm to the environment."