The theme of Sim Van der Ryn, AIA’s, career was: applying principals of physical and social ecology to architecture and environmental design, pioneering sustainable design at the community and the building scale.
In the early years of his life, Van der Ryn’s family fled the Holocaust and war-torn Holland to the outskirts of New York City. The unspoken tragedy that he and his family left behind and his experiences of deserted marshes, beaches and vacant lots gave him a lifelong concern for social justice, equity, and ecology.
As State Architect from 1975-1978, he developed the nation’s first government-initiated and energy efficient office building program and led adoption of energy standards and disability access standards for all construction in California.
As an educator and researcher, Van der Ryn played a major role in bringing ecological design to children and adults of all ages.
As a professor, he was a key force in establishing UC Berkeley’s international reputation as a leader in socially and environmentally responsible design.
He was the author of several books about sustainable planning and design including Sustainable Communities (1986) with Peter Calthorpe and Ecological Design (1996) with Stuart Cowan. As a ‘Tribal Elder,’ Van der Ryn spoke at the famed Monterey Design Conference in 2003; the theme that year was ‘Doing Good.’
Van der Ryn was also founder of the Farallones Institute and its successor, the Ecological Design Institute, which offers training, education, and research services in ecological design to businesses, government agencies, professional organizations, and educational institutions.
