May 17, 1981

A new generation of energy-efficient buildings is beginning to appear across the nation. Highly eclectic in form, the new buildings exploit environmental elements such as terrain and climate, and mix advanced technologies with basic engineering strategies to conserve energy. The first reaction to rising energy costs in the aftermath of the 1973 oil boycott was to retrofit the pre-boycott energy guzzlers or modify buildings under construction to include computer-controlled energy systems. However, builders were reluctant to try radical solutions. Now their attitude appears to be changing. Most new buildings designed and begun in the late 1970's, when it was clear that the era of cheap, abundant energy was over, were designed with energy savings in mind. Some innovative architects, engineers and owners have made a major commitment to energy conservation.

A Harvard Business School student, an Argentinian corporate executive, a French architect, a doughnut-shop worker from Secaucus, N.J., a nurse from Kentucky, a builder, a banker, a tattooed electrician, an inventor, a doctor, and a reporter were among 600 people who went on vacation together. For a week, they had no contact at all with the world outside. No clocks and no news. No cars and no money, no telephones and no obligations. They were virtually forced to get to know one another. That most - to a different degree and in a different way - could have a good time is why, I suppose, Club Med has proved so successful. It is not an easy thing to define, when you consider the unlikely mix of people that I (the reporter) found at Buccaneer's Creek in Martinique on a recent visit. But beautiful beaches, copious food, lots of sports and entertainment, and an atmosphere designed to make friends of strangers are undoubtedly some of the major reasons.

Some of the Yankees have said all along that a hitting slump is like a cold, and with or without medication it eventually goes away. Last night, as predicted, the Yankees were breathing more freely after a 7-5 victory over the Seattle Mariners at Yankee Stadium. Against a stubborn Mariner team that rebounded from a four-run first-inning deficit and executed four double plays, the Yankee batters accumulated nine hits, three by Bobby Murcer, the designated hitter. On Wednesday, against the Oakland A's, the Yankees had 13 hits and nine runs, their best offense since opening day.

The San Francisco Department of City Planning has decided to require developers of new commercial and industrial buildings to offset the impact of their developments by building residential housing. ''It is the price of getting their development,'' said George Williams of the planning department. Using its power of environmental review, the department has been requiring developers to agree to the building of residential units as a condition for a permit to build in downtown San Francisco. So far, few developers have balked at the policy. ''To fight it would mean tremendous delay and cost,'' said Richard Morton of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce. ''So we've rolled over and played dead.''

Don't Weep for Germany For the first time since he came to power, the West German Chancellor, Helmut Schmidt, comes to Washington this week in the garb of a beleaguered politician presiding over an ailing economy. Last Sunday's political events seem to have shaken the Chancellor - his Social Democratic Party lost in West Berlin and Valery Giscard D'Estaing, a friend and ally, was defeated in France. However, economic developments may ultimately prove more telling than political reverses. When the Chancellor sees the President, he is likely to complain to Mr. Reagan that high interest rates in the U.S. have prevented West Germany from restimulating its sagging economy. Nevertheless, today's weakness may be tomorrow's strength: The mark's decline has put German exporters in a highly favorable position, particularly in third-country markets. Orders are picking up, and David Rawley, an international economist at Chase Econometrics, anticipates an export-led recovery for Germany late this year. In 1982, Mr. Rawley expects real G.N.P. growth to exceed 3 percent. The Fed's Grip Stays Tight While the most recent figures on money supply growth - which increased a modest $3.1 billion in the week ending May 6 - cheered a bond market starved for good news, the effects on interest rates are likely minimal.