Customer Reviews

The Green House: New Directions in Sustainable Architecture

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Any home builder who would learn better ways to fit a home within a landscape or ecological environment would do well to consult The Green House: New Directions In Sustainable Architecture first: from tropics to urban jungles and arid Arizona deserts, the authors have traveled around the world studying sustainable or 'green' homes to determine which fit best into their environments. Over twenty residences are featured: the best of those which not only fit into their surroundings and are sustainable, but are also the best places to live. Color photos, blueprints and design specs, and comments on the unique features of each offer plenty of opportunity for learning what makes a home 'sustainable' and 'green'.

This book is a credit to Princeton Architectural Press because, rather than recite simplistic platitudes about green architecture, it illustrates green buildings that not only reflect the ecologically and socially responsibile principles of sustainable architecture but that serve the needs of, and indeed uplift, their inhabitants through the promotion of health and spirit. Indeed, as this book informs its readers, green architecture is more than energy efficiency and preservation of natural resources, it is the creation of beautiful environments that integrate cost-effective design and materials to better the well being of their inhabitants. As our consumption of natural resources threatens the vitality of our planet, these principles deserve far more consideration and application.

The book focuses on very modern designs, which are frequently stark or very heavy on the glass and steel. There are some ideas for creating a "greener" house, but most of the examples ignore the most basic green principle of minimizing the square footage of the house. Also, with a few exceptions, most of the examples appear to be very pricey.

Has some nice pretty pictures and limited text about each property. Does cover a variety of types of housing from city buildings to country living in many different climates but not much content about each property. I was looking for more technical information which wasn't there.

This is a nice book to get a broad range of ideas from, but each house only gets between 4-6 dedicated pages. Covers urban renewal, bush, ranges of materials, geographical spread, etc, with small plans/elevations to get the general idea. Notes some of the salient features of each house, but doesn't describe how these technically work or quantify the energy or impact savings. Mainly large family houses, so not for you if you're into micro housing as a green initiative. Nice introduction, and reasonable range of houses.

My husband and I have a dream of building a sustainable green home. We bought this book to get ideas and get inspired. It worked on both counts. While we're getting our financing together, this book definitely put us in the right frame of mind and convinced us that we're on the right track re: the grand design of our lives. I highly recommend this one!

Well designed and easy to use Layout on this Book for People interested in modern & green architecture. I recommend this book without any doubt. A very good source of inspiration!