Sustainable Landscape Construction: A Guide To Green Building Outdoors [Paperback]

J. William Thompson (Author), Kim Sorvig (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2000 | ISBN-10: 1559636467 | ISBN-13: 978-1559636469 | Edition: 1

"Sustainable Landscape Construction" re-evaluates the assumption that all built landscapes are environmentally sound, and offers practical, professional alternatives for more sustainable landscape construction, design, an d maintenance. Packed with clear concepts and never-before-compiled resources on "green" landscape work, the book is an inspiring overview of important practices and concerns.Organized around ten key principles of sustainability, the book offers specific methods that can help accomplish those principles. Techniques and materials of landscape construction -- both alternative and conventional -- are evaluated, using criteria such as energy savings or non-toxicity and renewability in manufacture. Topics covered include: keeping healthy sites healthy constructing for and with plants working with a site's water regime reducing the impacts of paving using local, salvaged, or recycled materials estimating energy costs over time respecting the need for darkness and quiet evaluating the resource costs of conventional landscape maintenance and more More than 100 projects from around the world are described and illustrated, proving that sustainable methods are viable today -- economically, functionally, and aesthetically. The book's extensive lists of resources for further information are an invaluable tool for implementing the ideas discussed, and for adapting them to local and regional conditions."Sustainable Landscape Construction" will be an important complement to basic landscape construction texts, and is a one-of-a-kind reference for professionals in landscape architecture, construction, and maintenance; students in landscape construction and related design courses; andlandowners, community groups, and others concerned with the health of specific sites.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

J. William Thompson is story editor for Landscape Architecture, the magazine

of the American Society of Landscape Architects.

 

Kim Sorvig is a research assistant professor at the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of New Mexico, and co-author of the Sustainable Building Technical Manual, published by the U.S. Green Building Council.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 372 pages
• Publisher: Island Press; 1 edition (August 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559636467
• ISBN-13: 978-1559636469
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,206,137 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Textbook style yet very interesting and engaging, April 21, 2008

By 

BanditoJose (Warwick, RI) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sustainable Landscape Construction: A Guide to Green Building Outdoors, Second Edition (Paperback)

This book is very lengthy and full of information, but unlike typical textbooks, it is not overly 'heady' nor boring... Each chapter is quite long (50 pages approx.) and the words are quite small, yet you can sit there for four hours straight and still be interested in what is on the next page!? The only thing that would make this book better would probably be color pictures (there are a good amount of informative pictures, yet they are all black and white). Great book for anyone in the construction industry...very interesting!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars old-school layout, May 25, 2010

By 

Michael Tanner (Byron Bay, NSW, AU) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sustainable Landscape Construction: A Guide to Green Building Outdoors, Second Edition (Paperback)

First impressions of this title are poor.

The layout is very old-school. The Text is way too small, making reading for long periods very tiring.

The black and white photos are straight-out of a 1960's high school text book (figuratively speaking)

Overall, whilst the content may be up to date and accurate, the design is poor and the publishing standard low.

Colour photos in higher resolution and larger text (by at least another 2 points)would be a marked improvement.

A disappointment.

4.0 out of 5 stars Textbook, February 3, 2012

By 

Wayne Rucker - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sustainable Landscape Construction: A Guide to Green Building Outdoors, Second Edition (Paperback)

I got this as a textbook for an internet class on sustainable landscape construction. It is well-written and easy to follow the author thought, even when he gets a little preachy. I was interested in the fact that out of five textbooks I had to have for this semester the only one I could not get as an e-book was sustainable landscape construction. Anyone notice the irony?