"....we must at the outset take note of the countries and climates in which buildings are built."
- Vitruvius, Architect 110 B.C. (Stitt, 1999)

    Green architecture allows people to become more in touch with the environment in which they live.  It incorporates natural landscapes into the buildings design which gives people a better connection to the land.  It also takes into account all the environmental effects which a building will have on a place.  Green design is based out of creating buildings which fit into their natural surrounds and give the people who use them a sense of place, as opposed to conventional architecture which pushes people away from the natural environment.  Many of the key components of green design involve in-depth knowledge about a place.  Green buildings must account for sun intensities, temperature variation, precipitation and many other environmentally driven aspects.  Without knowledge of local environments, green buildings cannot plan for variations and they will not be as energy efficient (Kennedy, 2002). 
     The designer's of green buildings task is to create a building that examines given conditions (site conditions, climate, daylight, and noise).  The building should not just be a shelter that blocks unwanted elements (wind, rain, and cold) but instead it should be a "selective filter" that excludes the unwanted influences, and admits the desirable ones such as daylight, solar radiation and natural ventilation (Gissen, 2002).    I believe that green architecture is a crucial link to having a sense of place, without this link people are isolated from the environment and therefore many environmental problems are easily forgotten.  The new green science center at St. Olaf College is going to be a great educational tool that will allow students and faculty to get a better sense of place on the St. Olaf Campus.  Green architecture is a step in a sustainable future which our society needs to take now before more environmental degradation is caused.