Malcolm Wells: One Man’s Crusade To Save The Environment Through Architecture

Malcolm Wells, designer of the former Moorestown Municipal Complex, championed environmentally responsible design and was considered the father of modern earth-sheltered architecture. The exhibit will focus on Wells’ early conventional architecture, his innovative period, and his futuristic ambitions.

“In 1959, at Taliesin West [near Phoenix, Arizona], I stepped out of the hot desert sunlight into this little open-to-the-air theatre, and marveled for a moment or two at Mr. [Frank Lloyd] Wright’s genius, his ability to carry a design through into the tiniest of details, before it struck me that I was suddenly cool and comfortable there under a mantle of earth. It took me only five more years to get the message. In 1964, I suddenly had a brilliant and original idea: buildings should be underground!” -Malcolm Wells

To read the recent Philadelphia Inquirer article, “Rediscovering N.J. architect Malcolm Wells, green building pioneer and mid-century modern master,” click here.
“Malcolm Wells, a bold and forward-thinking architect during the postwar suburban boom in South Jersey, did a mid-career pivot and became a green building pioneer. New exhibits celebrate his work.” -Kevin Riordan, Philadelphia Inquirer
 

Malcolm Wells in his sunlit NJ earth shelter office. Photo of Frank Lloyd Wright on the wall. (Photo courtesy of Sam Wells)