April/May 2009

Special

In Memory of Greg Franta - A Legacy of Love, Laughter and Sustaining the World

Stories from Lil’ Bros’

I first met Greg during the Greening of the White House.  He was the shy one in the corner....

We immediately hit it off. His humor mixed with sound thoughts and intelligence made him instantly someone I admired and imagined as a great mentor.  At that time, I had could not have imagined how he would grow over the next 15+ years into a very dear friend and colleague.

We crossed paths at conferences for several years, but then I was hired by RMI, and we were soon side by side working - he as a hired gun to RMI prior to the merger - with a wide range of clients, facilitating charrettes and steering design teams and owners to a greener solution. Our bonding experience was a weeklong trip to Singapore. We were 2 of 5 flown in as green building experts. As soon as we arrived - a day early to adjust to the time zone - Greg had us all on a boat to a neighboring island to hang on the beach. Cocktails and sun made us into ‘lobsters’ for the week (or was that just me....?). 

We did our work during the day - charrettes and presentations, had dinner with great folks each night, and then on the last night when all our work was done, we went out on the town. Greg found some great places... the night carried on... we became the towering white guys in crowds of locals... and by morning - well, let’s just say I missed my plane!

Greg and I would talk about me coming to work for him every now and then, or even setting up an East coast division - thinking it would be just over the top fun to work together. Much time was spent thinking through this, yes, often with a cocktail in hand. I am happy to say we did some architecture work together when I had a firm in San Francisco.  Ensar was hired to do some Master Planning and Architecture at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur.  Greg brought me in as the local architect to support the project. It was a hoot to collaborate. The project never got further than the master plan, site visits, meetings, and some conceptual drawings... but any excuse to go to Esalen is welcomed, and any excuse to work together was a must.

We finally had a chance to teach a full day LEED class together last year. As LEED Faculty, we would gather annually to learn new teaching skills and help shape the direction of "how to teach LEED".... but over 4 years, we had not taught together. I finally was able to request him as my co-instructor for an event right in my home city Portland, Maine. He stayed at my house, met my kids, had dinner with me and my wife, and then we taught a great class.  During the class we, of course, had to do a couple of skits.  He was ‘Ole the Norwegian architect’, and I was ‘Sven da Swedish builder’...ya sure ya betcha...we had the class cracking up. And in the process making a very necessary point about the making of green buildings - which I am forgetting this minute... but it was good!

Greg was quite the traveler....ok that's an understatement... He was 1K for over 10 yrs!...or was it 15 yrs? Last November I called Greg to see if he might be available short notice to meet me in Bahrain to help facilitate a brain storming session with a developer for a new sustainable city.  He was in London... on his way to Finland to give a lecture at a conference. He listened, asked some questions, and after hearing of the potential, he thought he could get back to London to catch a direct overnight flight to Bahrain, just in time for the work session to begin... but he would need to leave a bit earlier than I wanted to get to a major meeting for a project in NYC.   He made it to Bahrain, we had a great couple of days, the client was impressed, and he also made it to his NYC meeting.

Shortly thereafter, we met up again at GreenBuild in Boston...."The" annual conference....with great fun every night.  The "reviewer" party has grown to be the best finale each year of fun and friends and dancing.  Greg and I were, like every year, on the dance floor practically the whole time nearly connected by the hip.  Among his many dance moves...it was Greg every year that started bouncing up and down, and with his height managed to get the whole crowd going.  Such a fun man! We had pizza at 2 AM, and somehow he made it to a 6 am flight out of Logan.  That was the last I saw him in person. We talked on the phone and emailed a lot - planning for the next steps for the Bahrain developer, which then was put on hold.

Greg had such the playful side, yet he was extremely committed to the profession of sustainable architecture and absolutely a leader and teacher to so many people. He loved Jana and his girls, and always was finding ways to include them in his crazy travels and experiences.  He could light up a room with his smile or his wisdom. This is how I will remember him forever.

He was a closer friend than I had let myself understand. We were cut from the same mold... and we both knew it.  We actually looked alike too, which was fun in social settings to introduce ourselves as brothers...but I'll stop here with the stories.

I miss him. I miss my friend, my brother, my green building inspiration, my co-trouble maker. My love goes to his wife Jana and his daughters, and his best friend Nancy.  Greg will be with me forever.

- Gunnar (lil bro) Hubbard

CBG /April/May 2009