Pliny Fisk III

Pliny Fisk III (born May 30, 1944 in New York) is a co-founder and co-director of the "Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems" (CMPBS),[1] a sustainable design and planning 501c3 non-profit established in 1975.

The model for preserving abundant, naturally renewable resources is entirely removed from the questions of social equity, quality of environment and human welfare.

[5] In 1975 (with a seed grant from the Menil Foundation), – Fisk (and his then wife: Daria Bolton) founded the Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems (CMPBS) in Austin, Texas.

The CMPBS site – features numerous demonstration projects: including the „Advanced Green Builder Demonstration Home“ (AGBDH) – a 170 square meter structure, featuring numerous sustainable building techniques, including: a 50,000 liter rainwater harvesting system and two methods of straw-bale construction.

Other examples of Fisk's work on the CMPBS site – include the 2002 University of Texas at Austin entry for the Department of Energy Solar Decathlon competition, the Greenforms erector-set prototype and a foam and MgO Cement modular building system.

When the Lo Vaca Gathering Co shut off the natural gas supply to the small town of Crystal City (Texas) in the fall of 1977, Bolton and Fisk developed the idea of using Army surplus wood stoves and abundant mesquite for heating.

In subsequent years, Bolton and Fisk led an effort to manufacture and install inexpensive solar hot water heaters using salvaged materials.