Hyatt Regency skywalks designer Bob Berkebile is the godfather of green building

Berkebile's firm, which became known as BNIM Architects in 1991, has been one of the leading environmental design outfits in the country. It designed an eight-level, 195,000-square-foot nursing complex for the University of Texas in Houston with Earth-friendly elements. It has won national awards for its environmental design of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources headquarters in Jefferson City. The firm has expanded to include offices in Des Moines, Houston and Los Angeles.

That doesn't mean Berkebile doesn't open his own wallet now and again. One of the most frequented green buildings in Kansas City is the Discovery Center, a facility operated by the Missouri Department of Conservation and designed by BNIM. Berkebile wanted to find recycled wood within the city limits. He got a list of all the condemned buildings in town and scoped them out. None had enough lumber for the Discovery Center's needs. Then he spotted a four-story warehouse in the City Market that was being demolished. "So I went home all depressed, and at dinner Libby said, 'You'd really like to buy that wood, wouldn't you?'" Berkebile says. "So we did. Libby and I bought the wood, talked to the guy, rented some trucks and a warehouse in the East Bottoms."

That kind of passion has gained him national recognition. In 1993, President Bill Clinton announced an effort to make the White House a model for green homes. At the request of the AIA, Berkebile helped recruit experts to come up with ways to reduce waste and increase energy efficiency. He has even been called to the outer edges of civilization — the icy reaches of Antarctica — to work with the National Science Foundation in making the McMurdo Research Station more environmentally friendly. He helped the station slash its energy use by 50 percent and reduce waste by 75 percent. But the researchers posed a larger task.

"They said, 'Bob, if you don't go home and change the way we design and build American communities, you will take our children off the planet,'" Berkebile says.

He took that challenge to heart. If you ask this architect, it's past time to try to repair the planet one building at a time.

It's time to tackle entire cities.

On a recent Wednesday, the shades are drawn on the 29th floor of BNIM's office in downtown Kansas City. On a projection screen, a slide show flickers with pastel images of a futuristic building with a jagged roof and walls made almost entirely of windows. BNIM architects spread diagrams and maps across the table as their client, Steve Hewitt, stands with his hands on his hips, evaluating their work.

It seems like any other consultation — except for the TV crew hoisting microphones and trying to maneuver clunky video cameras in the small space.

Hewitt is the city manager of Greensburg, the Kansas town that was obliterated by a tornado last May. The BNIM architects are presenting a new city that will be built to the highest environmental standards, and the Discovery Channel has been watching their every move for months, capturing footage for a reality series called Eco-Town. With a little narration help from actor Leonardo DiCaprio, the show is scheduled to debut this summer.

Just before lunch, Berkebile ducks around the group and takes a seat at the back of the room. He chats quietly with one of the production assistants. He may be the man in charge, but Berkebile keeps a low profile.

"Hey, Bob, didn't see you sneak in," Hewitt says a few minutes later.

That's the way Berkebile wants it, though.

He didn't want to blow into rural Kansas as a big-city architect dictating the direction of the town. Gov. Kathleen Sebelius announced early on that she hoped Greensburg would be rebuilt as an environmental model. Berkebile wanted to help — but only if the residents of Greensburg invited his team to do the work.

Berkebile has been down this road before. In 1993, the entire town of Pattonsburg, Missouri, relocated after being ravaged by two floods. The town's mayor, David Warford, invited a team of experts led by Berkebile, who helped create a new master plan for the town that incorporated green principles.