Sustainability and solutions drive Gorilla Design Co-founder
Roi Maufas has survived Hurricanes Marilyn and Katrina and uses his library card to educate himself beyond the G.E.D. he has earned. As a founding member of Gorilla Design, a “no-money, mom and pop” architecture firm, Maufas finds himself at the front of the green building movement, but the business is just a small part of what he is working on. Maufas is also looking toward a better future for humanity.
“I feel like, as a business man particularly in a sustainable business, I am an ambassador for my country,” says Maufas.
He has had dealings with Iraq, Morocco, Tunisia and Peru and says that Colombia sees what he creates as a solution.
“Putting clean water on the ground for a whole village is big for me,” says Maufas.
He sees the world as one global community and works hard to provide a uniting context for everyone. Believing that people need to have the discussion about racism and their feelings about race, Maufas does not exclude himself.
“I admit that I am a racist,” says Maufas. “If you are walking around with any kind of preconceived notions about race, you are, too.”
When tornadoes hit Joplin, Missouri, Maufas was confronted with his own feelings about race. Seeing a man in a ball cap that sported the Dixie Flag talk about the loss he experienced, Maufas’ immediate thought was that the man deserved what he had gotten.
Maufas realized that the thought was not right and decided to travel to Joplin to find the man, so that he could apologize. The devastation was terrible, and while Maufas was unable to find the man, he is working with Grace Baptist Church to build a sustainable transition home for the community.
“There’s only us; there’s no them,” says Maufas. “If you love your child, you have to love them all.”
Among the designs that Maufas has been a part of is Sego Lily School. A net-zero building, the school will be one of the first net-zero schools in the United States.
“We have to face all of these issues at the same time,” says Maufas.
This article originally appeared at examiner.com. Links updated Feb. 2017.
“I feel like, as a business man particularly in a sustainable business, I am an ambassador for my country,” says Maufas.
He has had dealings with Iraq, Morocco, Tunisia and Peru and says that Colombia sees what he creates as a solution.
“Putting clean water on the ground for a whole village is big for me,” says Maufas.
He sees the world as one global community and works hard to provide a uniting context for everyone. Believing that people need to have the discussion about racism and their feelings about race, Maufas does not exclude himself.
“I admit that I am a racist,” says Maufas. “If you are walking around with any kind of preconceived notions about race, you are, too.”
When tornadoes hit Joplin, Missouri, Maufas was confronted with his own feelings about race. Seeing a man in a ball cap that sported the Dixie Flag talk about the loss he experienced, Maufas’ immediate thought was that the man deserved what he had gotten.
Maufas realized that the thought was not right and decided to travel to Joplin to find the man, so that he could apologize. The devastation was terrible, and while Maufas was unable to find the man, he is working with Grace Baptist Church to build a sustainable transition home for the community.
“There’s only us; there’s no them,” says Maufas. “If you love your child, you have to love them all.”
Among the designs that Maufas has been a part of is Sego Lily School. A net-zero building, the school will be one of the first net-zero schools in the United States.
“We have to face all of these issues at the same time,” says Maufas.
This article originally appeared at examiner.com. Links updated Feb. 2017.