Instead there are countless ways design can address and incorporate green issues. Green design is not merely a matter of add-ons or product specification. Rather, it influences the form of the whole building and is one of its major generators from the first moments of the design process. Greenness is not incompatible with the highest levels of architectural excellence. Europe's leading architects are also among its best proponents of green design.
Many green buildings represent the leading edge of engineering design.
The exhibition reflects these themes using models, photographs and drawings. To demonstrate how engineers use sophisticated modeling techniques to study the environmental effects of proposed buildings, the exhibition opens with an animation of studies by BDSP Partnership of London. The Austin Energy Green Building Program is the largest, oldest and most successful Green Building Program in the U.S. Started in 1992, the program is a community resource that promotes green building through consumer marketing and technical training of residential and commercial building professionals. The Green Building Program rates new and retrofit commercial and residential construction on energy conservation, water conservation, sustainable materials, health and safety, and community. To date over 2,140 Austin homes and commercial buildings have been designed or retrofitted with green features-more than in any other program in the country.