His Car Left the Road and Ended Up in a Ravine

BOULDER, Colo. — The body of green architect Greg Franta, who had been missing since February 9, was discovered March 10 in his car at the bottom of a ravine between Boulder and Golden.

Franta, 58, failed to show up for work on February 9. He was last seen the night before, when he had dinner with his daughter. According to DenverChannel.com, “Troopers believe the crash resulted from an accident around February 8, as Franta lost control and his car slid 363 feet off the road, rolling once, hitting several trees and landing upside down in the ravine. Franta was wearing a seat belt but sustained fatal injuries in the crash, according to troopers.”

Franta was chief architect at Rocky Mountain Institute. During the Clinton administration, Franta worked as a consultant to improve the energy efficiency of the White House.

In an article posted on the BuildingGreen Web site, Nadav Malin noted that Franta was “known for his engaging presentation style and ever-present humor in addition to his deep technical knowledge and extensive experience.” Franta was a LEED Faculty member and was among the founders of The American Institute of Architects Committee on the Environment.

An obituary in the Daily Camera of Boulder noted, “In 1981, Franta founded the Ensar Group in Boulder, a sustainable design consulting firm that worked on more than 800 projects around the world — earning Franta international name recognition and the title of Colorado architect of the year in 1998. David Johnston, a fellow green designer who was friends with Franta for 30 years, said … his longtime friend was ‘probably the most well-respected, most dearly loved of anyone in the green-building movement. Losing Greg at this moment, when it’s our time in the green-building world — he was too young to go,’ Johnston said.”