Sustainable Homes: 26 Designs that Respect the Earth (Paperback)

by James Grayson Trulove (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Sustainable Homes puts to rest the stigma that "green architecture" is unattractive and unsuitable for residential architecture.For the houses shown in this volume represent design equal to or superior to most conventional houses. Each of these "eco" houses is unique. Some tread lightly on the site by nestling into the land. Others are designed to be extremely well suited to the climactic zones in which they are built. Many use materials that do no harm to the environment—materials that are recycled, salvaged, or harvested.

The houses featured in Sustainable Homes are designed by today's top architects such as Obie Bowman, Fernau and Hartman, Hanrahan and Meyers, and Lake/Flato. They reveal how much the parameters of ecological design have expanded in just a few short years. Over two dozen individual houses are featured -- from locations as diverse as a Canadian cove to the Arizona desert, from Kansas plains to the Norwegian coast, from California bluffs to South Carolina wetlands -- each described through descriptions, photographs, plans, drawings, and schematics.

About the Author
James Grayson Trulove is the author, publisher, and editor of dozens of books addressing the subjects of architecture, landscape architecture, and garden design. His most recent books include Sustainable Homes, The Smart Loft, and Private Towers. He resides in Washington, DC and New York.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Collins Design (March 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060594462
• ISBN-13: 978-0060594466
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #630,455 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

57 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful pictures, information lacking, October 3, 2004

By	TammyJo Eckhart "TammyJo Eckhart" (Bloomington, Indiana United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

I love to collect books of house plans and blueprints and I especially like those that are environmentally friendly. Some day my family wants to afford to build such a nice house so these give us ideas. However, that only really works if we have full information -- like what types of materials are used, layouts of the floors that we can read, etc. Several, about 40% of the designs in this book lacked understandable or complete basic blueprints for the structure. Only a page or two about the building and the philosophy behind it were included. Primarily this is a pretty picture book and for $30 it should be more.

39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars TYPICAL TRUELOVE, January 18, 2006

By	Ms. Equestrian Empress (victor, mt United States) - See all my reviews

James Grayson Truelove rides the gravytrain of bait-and-switch coffee table fare. His chosen form lures the reader in with promises of topics we long to LEARN about, and a few succulent photographs, only to find the actual product, when delivered, bereft of content...frustrating, unsatisfying calories for an audience truly hungry for information and knowledge. read the reviews for all of his books and you will notice a recurring theme...we've seen most of these houses (even the same shots) in magazines before...readers were hoping for more detail...many people seem really ready for information about how to buck the degrading tide of mainstream housing, how to do it artfully, efficiently, and affordably. it seems almost cruel to cheat such a group of eager, open-minded, ahead-of-the-bellcurve people whose attempts to thwart the destructive housing industry are going to provide answers for the future. what a wasted opportunity. I think Mr. Truelove has the ABILITY, and he obviously has the resources, to do much better.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I wouldn't buy this as my main reference, January 26, 2007

By	Joel Russ (British Columbia, Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a book of sumptuous photos and graceful, though scant, commentary. Featured are sophisticated homes in beautiful, sometimes dramatic settings. Yet contrasting with the title, the brief description of each house seems more to emphasize aesthetics than "sustainability." Dennis Wedlick's forward succinctly lists a few elements like super-insulation, and non-toxic materials; but too little along these lines is discussed in Trulove's text in relation to the specific houses. Occasional fundamental or innovative details of construction, siting, or materials do show up, but more often the discussion is about traditional architectural concerns (like interior space and extensive windows) and stylistic considerations (like exterior cladding, and interior paneling). Besides the photos, the floor plans and roof-line illustrations are informative (though small). And occasionally the text and the photos come together nicely to reveal an interesting design feature - as when an extensive overhanging roof used in an especially sunny climate provides shade for windows (presumably reducing air-conditioning needs). But this book is nowhere near as intensive in its investigation of its featured homes, nor of sustainabile-home concepts or tech, as numerous other available books on the same topic (such as David Pearson's The Natural House).