Meet Douglas Durst, developer and environmentalist

Douglas Durst follows in his father's and grandfather's footsteps as an innovator in real estate and green building. He tells TFK about his passion for the environment and the legacy he hopes to pass on to future generations

TFK:
Your family is known for its environmental leadership. What drives your passion for the environment? Did your father or grandfather share the same concerns?

Durst:
Interest in protecting our environment is a Durst family passion and something I learned from my grandparents who believed strongly that you must always leave a place better than you found it. It always strikes me as a silly question when someone asks why we build "green"? Why wouldn't we want to protect our environment? It's like asking someone why he or she believes its necessary to make sure that children don't go hungry or we take care of our senior citizens.

TFK:
Many of the buildings that your company has worked on recently are green buildings. What would your father and your grandfather think about green building?

Durst:
I believe my father and grandfather would be very proud. The spirit of innovation that is critical to the development of green buildings is something I learned from my father and grandfather. Innovation is a guiding principal of my family's business. For example, in the 1940s we were one of the first landlords to install air conditioning in our buildings. At first, our colleagues laughed at us because up until then when it got hot, everyone went home at 3 p.m. In the future, green buildings will be as standard as air conditioning.

TFK:
Do you think green buildings will be the norm in 5 years?

Durst:
The biggest challenge to building green is that everything is new. The easiest way to build is to do exactly the same way you did before. Today, building green requires a lot more thinking and time than building conventional buildings, but that will change and just like air conditioning is standard in all office buildings, all new buildings will be green.

Angelique LeDoux
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