I’m still in my undergradute studies, but I had an ephinany of a thesis idea while hearing someone discuss the history of LEED to me on Tuesday:

“… Sometime in the Middle Ages or perhaps intensified in the Industrial Revolution, buildings started to lose good design, green design, that lacked proper lighting and ventilation. We moved away from nature to the machine (mechanical ventilation, artificial lighting). We didn’t consider environmental issues. Then, perhaps in the 1970s with the energy crisis, everyone was concerned with buildings because of high energy costs. People started to think about solar energy and passive heating and cooling once again …”

- Paraphrase from Jeff Moneypenny, AIA, LEED AP