Cuningham and Earth Day: Then and Now

I have a vivid memory of the first Earth Day in 1970. I was sitting in my tenth-grade classroom when I noticed what looked like a large number of protestors on the front lawn of the school. Given the era, I thought they must be Vietnam War protestors, although the war was winding down. Then I was able to read some of their signs and saw the phrase “Earth Day.” I hadn’t heard the term before and so during a break between classes I went outside. I couldn’t spend long without risking a trip to the assistant principal’s office, but quickly got the idea that this was about something else altogether. While I can’t say the experience shaped my career choice, it certainly made a strong impression on me and I’ve looked for ways to celebrate Earth Day ever since.

Another Earth Day Memory
I have many other Earth Day memories. In 2010 for the 40th anniversary, Cuningham (then Hutton Architecture Studio) decided to reach out to a favorite client to see if we might work with some of their students. From this came the idea of presenting to both schools at a campus where we were working. Our small staff worked together to create a presentation for each school.

The first school was a middle school and the presentation was held in their gymnasium, as that was the only space large enough to hold their 1,400 students. The presentation covered a brief history of Earth Day and career opportunities related to the environment. We then moved to the high school where we had student volunteers help us demonstrate energy use intensity on the stage. Our use of thousands of matches to illustrate kBtu’s increased both risk and audience enthusiasm. There is nothing like a potential disaster to get students’ attention!