The Green House: New Directions in Sustainable Architecture [Hardcover]

Alanna Stang (Author), Christopher Hawthorne (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2005

From the arid deserts of Tucson, Arizona to the icy forests of Poori, Finland to the tropical beaches of New South Wales, Australia to the urban jungle of downtown Manhattan, critics Alanna Stang and Christopher Hawthorne have traveled to the farthest reaches of the globe to find all that is new in the design of sustainable, or "green," homes. The result: more than thirty-five residences in fifteen countries -- and nearly every conceivable natural environment -- designed by a combination of star architects and heretofore unknown practitioners.
Six different climactic zones are presented in The Green House -- waterfront, forest and mountain, tropical, desert, suburban, and urban; there is also a section on mobile dwellings. Each chapter features a series of homes that show the diversity and possibility of sustainable design. Projects are presented with large color images, plans, drawings, and an accompanying text that describes their green features and explains how they work with and in the environment.
Architects included: Santiago Calatrava, Shigeru Ban, Miller/Hull, Rick Joy, Lake Flato, Kengo Kuma, Glenn Murcutt, Pugh & Scarpa, Werner Sobek, and many others.
The Green House is not only a beautiful object in its own right, but is sure to be an indispensable reference for anyone building or interested in sustainable design -- and if you ask us, that should be everyone.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A book for the environmentally and aesthetically conscious...this book is as poignant as it is refreshing." -- Loft Magazine, September 2005

"THE GREEN HOUSE will serve as a handsome resource guide and inspiration for designers and their clients." -- Architectural Record, September 2005

...demonstrate(s) quite vividly that environmental responsibility and dazzling design are no longer mutually exclusive. -- Town & Country, January 2006

A rich coffee table prize as well as a reference in finding visual devices to emulate... -- My House In The Mountain States, December 2005

A well-designed book about well-designed homes! I learned so much about the different kinds of earth-friendly buildings... -- Domino, March 2007

Crisp photos, illustrations, detailed write-ups of each project, ... a handsome resource guide and inspiration for designers and their clients. -- Architectural Record, 10/21/2005

The emergence of a new architecture -- both aesthetically pleasing and environmentally conscious. -- Metropolis, July 2005

With colorful images, plans, drawings and texts describing the houses' "green" factor... as poignant as it is refreshing. -- Loft, September 2005

About the Author

Alanna Stang is Executive Editor of ID Magazine .

Christopher Hawthorne is architecture critic for Slate and a frequent contributor to the New York Times .

Product Details

• Hardcover: 196 pages
• Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press; 1 edition (June 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568984812
• ISBN-13: 978-1568984810
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 8.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #554,235 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #47 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > How-to & Home Improvements > Home Design > Energy Efficient Design

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

85 of 87 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ideas for Sustainable Housing, August 16, 2005

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Green House: New Directions in Sustainable Architecture (Hardcover)

The design goals of a green house are:

1. Harmonize with the site.

2. Build as small as possible.

3. Use natural heating and cooling

4. Be beautiful as well as ecological.

5. Located close to there the dwellers have to go (work, school, shopping).

6. Refurbish older buildings where possible.

The thirty or so houses described in this book fit these criteria as best as possible. Some of these are in remote locations so fail in that criteria (unless you work at home and do not have children in school). But a surprising number of these dwellings are in cities: New York, Vienna, Stuttgart, Melbourne, San Antonio, Phoenix.

The houses are striking in appearance, inexpensive to build, totally functional. As with other books of home plans, these houses serve as idea books for architects and potential owners to use in their new designs.

57 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Green home design meets high-end modern architecture, December 8, 2006

By 

James Johnson (Eugene, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Green House: New Directions in Sustainable Architecture (Hardcover)

As a coffee table book of high-style architecture with a 'green' focus, this is an excellent book. Everything is well documented, and there are beautiful pictures of a diverse set of very creatively designed structures. I would argue that many of the single-family homes break the principal of building only as large as necessary, but that's pretty typical of high-end 'aesthetic' architecture anyway. There are also a number of green apartment buildings, and even one low-income complex.

Unfortunately, I wanted a book on green homes built by average people, not multi-million dollar projects. Thus, I returned the book and ordered "Good Green Homes" instead.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent incubator for ideas and more, March 24, 2006

By 

MrGreenGenes - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Green House: New Directions in Sustainable Architecture (Hardcover)

The book is more than a good addition to a coffee table to tempt your unsuspecting guest. The book begins with a short philosophical journey on the definitions of sustainability. I was surprised to find how the word has eveolved as well as its application to architecture. Following the introduction is an excellent breakdown of a wide range of houses and buildings created in diverse environments. The creative ways in which "greenness" was incorporated into the construction of the buildings was fascinating. My wife and I want to build a "green" house, but I realized as I read this book that I really didn't know what that meant. The book is not a how-to manual for direct applications, but offers important perspectives that will likely apply to whatever project one may consider. The book serves as an excellent incubator to reflect on how you create a "green" house. We have a folder of ideas for our "green" house. This book dhowed us how we can make it happen - but without the final blue prints. The book also provided names and examples that provide key references to realizing "green" architecture. For example, we have names and ideas that we can incorporate into our collaboration with an architect for our house design. Overall, I highly recommmend it.