Henry L. Green, Hon. AIA

by Heather Livingston
Contributing Editor

Summary: On August 1, Henry L. Green, Hon. AIA, began his tenure as president of the National Institute of Building Sciences, taking over from predecessor David A. Harris, FAIA, who served as president for 20 years. Since 1989, Green has served as the executive director of the Michigan Bureau of Construction Codes, where he has provided executive management and oversight for construction codes programs in the State of Michigan including the development and implementation of construction codes and standards, building inspection programs, and public education programs. As a volunteer, Green has served as the president of the International Code Council (ICC) and president of one of ICC’s legacy organizations, the Building Officials and Code Administrators, International.

Where were you educated?
I have an associate degree in general education from Lansing Community College and an associate degree in architecture and engineering from ITT Technical Institute.

What is your professional background?
While I was in college, I started working for a general contractor in his design-build team. We designed documents as well as field work for the company. I moved on from there to work for the State of Michigan as an architectural draftsman in our department of management and budget, where I was responsible for putting together and cataloging equipment and maintenance schedules and determining maintenance progress for state-owned buildings and facilities. From there, I went on to become a building inspector for the State of Michigan, then became the director of the barrier-free design division. That responsibility included the application of accessibility standards throughout the state; working with the accessibility board to develop the standards and processing applications for exception requests to the standards; and monitoring the education and training of architects, engineers, and the building community in total. After leaving that position, I became chief building inspector for the State of Michigan and was responsible for the oversight of the state’s building inspection program for code compliance. From there I became deputy director, and after serving as deputy director for a number of years, I became director of the program. I was director of the Bureau of Construction Codes for about 19 years.

Do you have any hobbies?
I love to travel and I love to play golf.

What are you currently reading?
I’m reading two books right now: Barack Obama’s book—his latest one—[The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream] and then also a book called Ancient Wisdom, by James MacDonald.

What are your thoughts on taking over as president of NIBS?
Well, it’s an exciting prospect of taking the organization to a new dimension. I credit my predecessor Dave Harris with actually putting NIBS in a very good position. What I’d like to do with the organization is work with the building community to use the resources we have here at NIBS to a greater extent. And by that, being able to go out and partner with the various building associations to look at what impacts various issues have on the built community and if we can address those issues to provide greater public safety.

I’d also like to talk to Congress and the Executive Branch about how we can partner to look at issues that have plagued the built environment and address some of those issues so that we can make our cities and buildings safer. It’s not just a matter of looking at the current issues that are before us, but also examining what is in the offing. Are there things out there we see that could be potential issues? And can we head them off in some respects? So that’s what I hope to do here at the institute, working with the board to make sure that we’re able to advance the organization from a standpoint of being a resource for the building community, as well as responding to some of the issues that might be out there as well.

What do you think is the most important endeavor at NIBS presently?
Right now, there are a couple of different things I think that are significant. I think we need to really wrap our arms around the issue of high performance buildings and make sure that we have a good complement of standards in place to address how we achieve high performance in our buildings, “measurabilities,” if you will.

The other issue is to ensure that we’re circling back to address issues with our building seismic safety council, such as the greater problem of seismic activity and reinforcing our buildings. We certainly have to look at what we have in terms of our Building Thermal Envelope Committee. And then also, the interoperability of data exchange with regard to the electronic transmission of data among all those activities for concept design, actual construction, and ongoing occupancy. I see that as a great ability to assist in how we use our buildings, how they’re occupied, how we respond in emergency situations, and actually move forward from where we are today to make sure that we’re using it to save money during the construction process as well as the occupation of the buildings.

What’s happening with the national BIM standard?
The standards are progressing very well, quite frankly. That’s what I’m talking about when I ask how we advance the interoperability. The BIM standards are the ones that are actually going to move that forward. The Building Smart Alliance really is taking the lead to assure that we advance the interoperability and making sure BIM standards are in fact compatible. We want to ensure that there is the ability to use all of the standards and make sure that there is a platform that will recognize how all of these issues fit together. They’re moving forward quite readily and in an appropriate manner.

Are determining the IFCs [Industry Foundation Classes] still the greatest obstacle to implementation of a national BIM standard?
Yes, and as we focus on that it’s going to get better, but I really think we have to look a bit deeper to make sure that we are getting the right information in place so that the IFCs certainly will work for us in that context. So, yes, I agree. It is going to be one of the larger obstacles, but I think we have the wherewithal and the tenacity to actually work through the issue.

When you say “we,” do you mean NIBS or the profession?
Both. I try not to separate NIBS from the profession because we’re such an integral part of the profession, and the profession’s such an integral part of NIBS. The representation that we have in our councils and boards from the professional community is one of the great attributes of NIBS. If you look at the people who come here and help us achieve the work that we’re doing, you’d be astounded. The volunteerism to achieve this work is just phenomenal. NIBS is an open playground for the building community and design professionals to come together, so that in fact we can capture all of the good that they have out there. We’re able to filter through all of the issues and come up with the best solutions.

Do you have any advice for young architects?
Learn about codes and standards as a part of your professional growth. The reason I say that is it’s going to be with us. It’s going to help dictate the safety of buildings. They’re going to find that it is not incongruent with their zeal to design; that in fact it’s going to be complementary. Also, be active in the development of standards. Young minds are very fertile and they can bring about new ideas and solutions that they may not have thought about on their own. Through their participation in those kinds of activities they bring forth points that people might not have seen and are able to also gather resources themselves in how their growth and professionalism will advance.

Where would you like to see NIBS in five years?
Well, my goal for NIBS in five years is to make sure it is the preeminent source to the building community for information and research on building safety and development of standards; not the writing of standards but the research that goes behind the development of the standards. That’s key. I think we have all the tools in place that can help us grow in that respect to be recognized as that source. I think we’ll help the building community because NIBS’ position is, as I said, an open playground for ideas. Not having a vested interest in it other than bringing about the safety within the built environment I think makes NIBS a place where all of the various groups can come together, voice their concerns, work through the issues, and at the end of the day have a set of standards or have a solution to issues that are before them that benefits the whole, not the one.