Chaim Frydman survived the Holocaust. He was the only Frydman who did. In Sole Survivor, architect and academic Avi Friedman travels to Europe to trace his father’s journey through the Holocaust and find his family’s genesis. He visits the homes, factories, and synagogues in which the Frydmans made their lives and the ghettos and camps in which they were imprisoned and killed. Avi finds powerful stories in interviews, archives, and the built environment itself, illustrating the ways that b...

A Place in Mind: The Search for Authenticity is the result of Avi Friedman’s worldwide quest for successful environments where people congregate and feel comfortable. Whether he writes of the conviviality of a teahouse in Istanbul; the serenity of Assisi; the squatter settlements of Tijuana, or the architectural harmony of neighbourhoods in London, Friedman conveys his excitement at discovering people-friendly places—antidotes to social isolation.His search for unique spot...

Fundamentals of Community Design for Wellbeing addresses the need to rethink the philosophy and form of residential environments due to recent social, economic, environmental, and cultural shifts, including depletion of non-renewable resources, elevated levels of greenhouse gas emissions, and climate change. This book highlights innovative planning strategies for livability and wellbeing of communities supported by lessons from notable international case studies, addressing varied...

A View from the Porch is an illuminating collection of 22 essays about the points where design touches life and the big and small things that make us appreciate, or become disconnected from, our homes and neighbourhoods.Drawing on his experiences as an architect, planner, world traveller, and educator, Friedman delves into issues such as the North American obsession with monster homes, the impact of scale on the feeling of comfort in our communities, environmental concerns...

Despite a prolonged slump in the housing market, the demand for residential green building remains strong. More than ever, professionals need reliable information about how to construct or retrofit livable, sustainable, and economical homes. With Fundamentals of Sustainable Dwellings, Avi Friedman provides that resource. While other books on residential green building are often either superficial or overly technical, Friedman gets it just right, delivering an illustrated, accessible guide ...

This book covers fundamental aspects of neighborhood planning and architecture along sustainable principles. Written by a designer and instructor, the book’s fully illustrated chapters provide detailed insights into contemporary strategies that architects, planners and builders are integrating into their thought processes and residential design practices.Past approaches to planning and design modes of dwellings and neighborhoods can no longer sustain new demands and require innovat...

Small and mid-sized suburban towns house two-thirds of the world’s population and current modes of planning for these municipalities are facing challenges of both philosophy and form. Common approaches that have prevailed in past decades no longer sustain new demands and require innovative thinking. Rather than dismissing small and mid-sized towns as unattractive suburban sprawl, Planning Small and Mid-Sized Towns offers ideas and methods on how small isolated and edge towns can b...

Current planning and design modes of cities are facing challenges of philosophy and form. Past approaches no longer sustain new demands and call for innovative thinking. In a world that is becoming highly urbanized, the need for a new outlook is propelled by fundamental global changes that touch upon environmental, economic and social aspects.The book introduces fundamental principles of timely sustainable urban design, paying attention to architecture, integration of natural featu...

Housing is rapidly having to adapt to the global changes of the twenty first century. These include the transformation of the family and the rise of the non-traditional household, increases in construction costs, and concerns over climate change and the depletion of natural resources. Designing residential environments that address these issues is an urgent priority.This book examines the latest residential design trends that have arisen in response to these challenges. Divided int...

This book offers ideas and practices on contemporary design concepts and illustrates them with plans and photographs of outstanding examples. Current planning and design modes of dwellings and neighborhoods are facing challenges of philosophy and form. Past approaches no longer sustain new demands and require innovative thinking. The need for a new outlook is propelled by fundamental changes that touch upon environmental, economic and social aspects.The depletion of non-renewable n...

This book explores the rise of technology-centered urban planning and the diffusion of these practices around the world. Seven axes of urban planning have been selected to highlight how data and technology currently work and how these systems can be improved going forward. Each aspect is explored in its own chapter that combines narrative description, illustrations, and case studies to show how technology currently shapes our cities and how this may impact the urban environments. Topics in...

Recent societal changes have brought about renewed interest from architects, town planners, housing officials and the public in terraces and townhouses. The small footprint that this style of house occupies allows a sustainable high density approach to habitation, slowing sprawl and creating energy-efficient affordable living.Townhouses have been used for hundreds of years, and their evolution is covered from their inception right up to the present day. With the changing demographi...