Customer Reviews

Ecodesign: The Sourcebook

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
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this book is cool - lots of pictures, the text is brief. there is a good mix of concepts and production products ( concepts are always more fun to look at and have more pure ideas. production parts show how it all works in the real world). in fact, the best part of the book is that it finds positive things about a lot of products. it isn't demanding that we stop using plastic or batteries - just finds the best examples of products that use them wisely.

One important section is buried in the back. pages 327 - 330 give eco-design strategies. the are brief desicriptions of how to design an "eco" product. for example, one says "self-assembly: designs that are assembled by the consumer, therefore saving valuable space in transport and storage". most writers would take several pages to say the same thing.

This beautifully designed book is a great idea-generator if you're thinking about using sustainable products and materials in your home or office, or if you just like cool, european design that makes you ask, "so where can I get that?" or "who makes that utterly cool thing that I will probably never find in a shop and can't afford, anyway?"

It introduces you to good-looking examples of ecological design for everyday life -- flooring, furniture, transportation, miscellaneous -- and gives a breakdown of the kinds of materials available (biopolymers, textiles, etc.) and who makes them. For me, it would also be helpful to see price tags on some of these options, as well as more easily located--or at least up-to-date--URLs for the companies that produce them. Many examples had no web sites listed and some were defunct.

For those of us who appreciate both good design and environmental issues (recyclability, energy used in manufacture, durability, etc.), this book offers a wonderfully wide spectrum of products that will inspire and enlighten... and possibly make you reach for your credit cards, thanks to the lists of manufacturer contact info in the back. However, you should realize that a significant portion of the products shown are "one-offs" or case studies -- they are not available for purchase. I feel that the author's descriptions are inconsistent -- sometimes helpful or interesting, sometimes not. But the vast array of products presented are generally quite well chosen from what must have been a truly dizzying number of possible entries, and nicely organized. I appreciate the inclusion of vehicles, although I have been watching that particular area of product development (EV's, FCV's, etc.) closely enough to wish that the author had opted to include certain other models, and had more complete or current facts about some that were presented, such as the General Motors EV1, which was a brilliantly designed electric car with a massive waiting list, mysteriously pulled out of production by GM for extremely dubious reasons. In summary, Ecodesign is quite enjoyable, with a huge number of fantastic designs for a wide range of products.

This book is useful but does not contain much additional information from previous edition.

This book compiles a number of materials and items that are consider "sustainable". It does a great job in giving the most basic information about hundreds of them. This is not a "how to make a sustainable home" for homeowners kind of book. This is a very interesting sourcebook for architects, industrial designers and engineers.

While there are a few inspired designs, most of the products in this book are given the "eco" label because of some trivial afterthought. There is a thick line between "ecologically sound" and "greenwashed," but no one seems to have told the editor. Good design is about problem solving, not creating more crap out of recycled tires.

If you want inspiration, read these: Design Like You Give A Damn: Architectural Responses To Humanitarian Crises and Design Revolution: 100 Products That Empower People.

The revised edition of Eco Design: The Sourcebook offers college-level architecture and design collections a handy directory of designers, manufacturers, and product listings paired with over eight hundred color illustrations of objects for living and working. Small color photos are accompanied by detailed descriptions, making for a fine and lasting reference any architecture collection needs.