Summary

Sustainability in Architecture and Urban Design will help you understand the nature of the sustainability problem and show you how to implement your design for a sustainable future. Organized in six parts, the problem, the environment, the residential scale, the commercial scale, the urban scale, and energy sources, the book presents essential information in context, so that you get the full picture. Hundreds of drawings, sketches, charts, and diagrams illustrate points author Carl Bovill makes in his clear and direct style, which communicates the basics in a concise way.

You'll learn:
-About environmental economics
-How sustainable architectural design relates to ecology
-How fractal geometry can lead to a new understanding of the structure of the world around us
-How to design energy efficient houses and commercial buildings
-How to design and live in our cities to lower energy use per person
-About LEED points at all scales

A glossary and reading lists encourage you to explore the topics further.

Choice Review

Bovill's succinct introduction defines the thesis of his book. Bovill (Univ. of Maryland) argues that "Nature provides the pattern for a resilient sustainability" and "Creating ... a response to sustainability issues requires a broad understanding of the problem and a broad understanding of multiple solution paths." Through six parts and 32 chapters, he covers a broad range of topics, from the problem at hand to alternative energy sources for a sustainable future. The first part does not merely explain how current problems developed but also delves into uncontrollable growth and dwindling life-support features, such as oxygen. Points are pressed home with black-and-white graphs and tables providing visual evidence throughout the book. Parts 3 and 4 are the meat of the book, in which Bovill critically examines key issues such as bioclimatic and solar design and natural lighting in residential and commercial buildings. Some chapters are a bit short and dry, as if they were culled from a class lecture, but the overall content is filled with vital information "to guide early schematic design in the right direction." Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate, research, and professional collections. --Lauren B. Allsopp, University of Oregon