In the United States, direct energy use in buildings accounts for 39% of carbon dioxide emissions per year—more than any other sector. Buildings contribute to a changing climate and warming of the earth in ways that will significantly affect future generations. Zero net energy (ZNE) buildings are a practical and cost-effective way to reduce our energy needs, employ clean solar and wind technologies, protect the environment, and improve our lives. Interest in ZNE buildings, which produce as...

This booklet is the second in a twelve part series that walks the owner/builder through the construction of a Global Model Earthship. This installment covers the concrete and steel strength of the building, including footings, buttresses and bond beam. Photographs, diagrams and thorough explanations of procedures will guide you through the concrete work phase of the building.With over 40 years of experience, Michael Reynolds has developed a 'living' home that heats and cools itself...

Tony covers the process of visualising and designing a house through to the practical side of lifting the living roof, infilling the walls. laying out rooms and adding renewable, autonomous technology. He offers advice on roofs, floors, walls, compost toilets, wood stoves, kitchens, windows and on planning permissions. There are photographs of the dwelling and illustrations from the construction plans for this, one of the UK's most unique homes. Includes updates which bring the building and p...

Earth-sheltered building has existed since the heyday of Skara Brae in Scotland 5,000 years ago, and is used today by people around the world. If you’ve ever looked at your power bill in stunned disbelief and are interested in green building techniques, The Complete Guide to Building Affordable Earth-Sheltered Homes is for you.

The Maker City Playbook is a comprehensive case studies and how-to information useful for city leaders, civic innovators, nonprofits, and others engaged in urban economic development. The Maker City Playbook is committed to going beyond stories to find patterns and discern promising practices to help city leaders make even more informed decisions.Maker City PlaybookChapter 1: Introduction and a Call to ActionChapter 2: The Maker movement an...

With increases in global temperatures, the risk of overheating is expected to rise around the world. This results in a much higher dependency upon energy-intensive cooling systems and air-conditioners to provide thermal comfort, but how sustainable is this in a world where problems with the production of electricity are predicted?Vernacular houses in hot and dry central Iran have been adapted to the climate through passive cooling techniques, and this book provides a valuable asses...

Septic Tank Options & Alternatives is a user-friendly guide through the maze of selecting an eco-friendly sewage treatment option for your home. With so many different treatment systems and technologies available, it can be a challenge to make the choice that really reflects your values and priorities. This book lists conventional and alternative sewage treatment systems and outlines the pros and cons of each in a straightforward and non-technical way. Septic Tank Options covers The Environme...

Baltimore: Reinventing an Industrial Legacy City is an exploration into the reinvention, self-reflection and boosterism of US legacy cities, taking Baltimore as the case study model to reveal the larger narrative. Author Klaus Philipsen investigates the modern urban condition and the systemic problems involved with adapting metropolitan regions into equitable and sustainable communities, covering topics such as growth, urban sprawl, the depletion of cities, social justice, smart c...

Through 12 case studies from Australia, Bangladesh, Haiti, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and the USA, this book focuses on the housing reconstruction process after an earthquake, tsunami, cyclone, flood or fire. Design of post-disaster housing is not simply replacing the destroyed house but, as these case studies highlight, a means to not only build a safer house but also a more resilient community; not to simply return to the same condition as before the disaster, but an opportunity for building bac...

“Sustainability is not a buzz-word anymore; it’s a matter of survival. Meaningful achievement in sustainability will require significant paradigm shifts in attitudes about how we live, how we consume resources, how we govern ourselves and how we transport people and goods. Asti’s excellent exploration of the issues is a must-read.”-- Subrata Basu, AIA, AICP Miami-Dade County Department of Planning and Zoning“Industries, health care, education and others are trying to tread m...

Modern Residential Construction Practices provides easy-to-read, comprehensive and highly illustrated coverage of residential building construction practices that conform to industry standards in the United States and Canada.Each chapter provides complete descriptions, real-world practices, realistic examples, three-dimensional (3D) illustrations, and related tests and problems. Chapters cover practices related to every construction phase including: planning, funding, perm...

Bad experiences with construction quality, the energy crises of 1973 and 1979, complaints about "sick buildings", thermal, acoustical, visual and olfactory discomfort, the need for good air quality, the move towards more sustainability - all these have accelerated the development of a field that, for a long time, was hardly more than an academic exercise: building physics (in English speaking countries sometimes referred to as building science). The discipline embraces domains such as heat...