ABSTRACT
The chapter examines the Western Spirit: Scottsdale's Museum of the West, an exceptional example of “triple bottom line” sustainable design applied to a major cultural facility that delivers energy- and resource-efficient, socially equitable and financially successful buildings and communities. While triple bottom line design has become increasingly common for socially conscious projects such as low-income housing and for community revitalization projects, it has been infrequently encountered in major cultural buildings like the Western Spirit: Scottsdale's Museum of the West. The museum, which was built using atypical construction methods for architecturally prominent buildings, has catalyzed the successful revitalization of Scottsdale’s Old Town cultural district.
