Review by Choice Review
Compiled by two homeowners driven to investigate how imaginative building strategies could be enlisted to make life better, this selection of dwellings from around the globe is intended as a sourcebook for anyone interested in exploring sustainable options for home building or adaptation. More than 150 examples are organized in sections devoted to assimilating, collaborating, growing, harvesting, reusing, transforming, weaving, and so on. Each case study (most about a half to a full page) is identified by architect, project name, date, and location, followed by a brief description of the structure(s). The presentation is similar to glossy architecture magazines, the enticing color photographs and diagrams providing a sketchy visual record that suggests rather than displays the full complexity of each home. Most of the projects are designed by architects and very few reflect Indigenous vernacular traditions, although some vernacular materials and techniques are used. This compilation results from wide-ranging research that yielded an impressive array of intriguing structures. It provides a good starting point for laypersons investigating options for sustainability-minded home design. The concept is ambitious, but the brevity of examples leaves one hungry for more extensive investigation. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates; professionals. --Micheline Nilsen, emerita, Indiana University South Bend
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
"Changing the way our homes are constructed could help alleviate many of the world's problems," write curator Smith and journalist Topham in this sophisticated survey of sustainable homes. The duo organize the work into 19 chapters, each of which offers plausible solutions for environmental issues: a chapter titled "Dig" showcases homes in China that are built using ancient rammed-earth techniques and require less energy for heating and cooling. "Float" is a look at aquatic architecture and features the Thames Estuary's "Flood House," which "addresses new ways of living with the threat of flooding by embracing the movement of the tides," and the fascinating "Reuse" chapter shows how waste can be used to build homes--the U.K.'s Brighton Waste House, for instance, was built using discarded objects such as used toothbrushes and DVD cases. The "Print" section, meanwhile, highlights Texas's "Community First! Village" of 3D-printed, single-story homes that can be customized "with a simple change to a few lines of code." While the full-color exterior photos are impressive, readers will be disappointed that not all interiors are documented. Even so, those interested in green design will find this an inspirational lay of the land. (Dec.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
While a generation of socially conscious architects rejected fossil fuels in favor of renewable sources of energy, the more recent biophilic adoption of the word "green" suggests a more comprehensive approach to a building ecology that also includes sustainable materials. In 1993, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) introduced a more systematic approach to environmentally sensitive design and construction choices. Since LEED practices for residential construction are less rigorous, this manifesto by two idealistic nonarchitects (Smith is a freelance curator; Topham is a design writer) is also a welcome sourcebook of ideas for creating environmentally responsible houses. What differentiates this from the plentiful selection of titles on sustainable home design is its thematic organization, visible in the table of contents, which introduces 19 themes, or strategies, and even provides a one-sentence summary of each. Unexpected anthropomorphic chapter headings ("breath," "burrow," "empathize") work alongside agricultural metaphors ("grow," "harvest," "preserve"). Each chapter contains a one-page introduction and between five and 10 examples, described with a small font that sacrifices legibility. VERDICT Some selections come from conceptual artists and fall well outside of realistic design applications, and this effort would have greater impact if limited to pragmatic solutions. Still, the original concept makes this a sound choice for most design collections.--Paul Glassman
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