Environmentally Books

The busy person's guide to mindful consumption How do you reduce your impact when you don't want to compromise your lifestyle?How do you live lighter when you're juggling the motherlode of life?How can you become more mindful of how and what you're...

New York City is filled to the brim with beautiful, unique green spaces—if you know where to look. From the Church of St. Luke in the Fields in the West Village to the Brooklyn Grange rooftop farm in the Navy Yard, the Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden...

Climate Inheritance is a speculative design research publication that reckons with the complexity of world and heritage in the Anthropocene. The impacts of climate change on heritage sites - from Venice flooding to extinction in the Galpagos Islands -...

Originally published in Japanese as a call to preserve disappearing facets of Japan's rich and ancient culture, this book takes its inspiration from the 1960s classic, Hidden Hamlets by Shirasu Masako. Like Shirasu, Kerr travels to remote and...

Documents the artworks of the exhibition Repair, Australian Pavilion, 16th International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia, under the creative direction of Baracco+Wright Architects in collaboration with Linda Tegg. It shares the thinking...

Supertight is an exploration of high-density urban life and reducing the footprint of cites through adaptations in design and behaviour.Tightness is a positive urban quality, examined through the observations of designers, with a focus on the cities of...

This book documents the intersection of architecture and design with ecology, environmental history, policy, governance and law from the 19th century to today. It presents conflicting definitions and concepts of architects and designers and the parallel...

Prefabricated housing, often associated with blighted urban landscapes and monotonous grey boxes, has evolved into an approach to housing with a wealth of aesthetic and structural possibilities. Modern methods of constructing and assembling prefabricated...

An edited volume by Monsoon Assemblages, a European Research Council funded research project.The book presents the methods that Monsoon Assemblages has evolved for engaging the monsoon, a globally connected weather system, as a coproducer of urban life...

Climax Change! represents the much-needed overview of how climate change and the current environmental emergency will affect the practice of architecture, both in terms of its design philosophy and rising opportunities to innovate and radically transform...

The cycle of production and consumption, artificially accelerated by advertising and marketing, has characterised our society for decades. This cycle has recently also taken hold of the architecture of the city, leading to a waste that is both...

Prefabricated housing has long since ceased to mean the disfigurement of the urban landscape with monotonous grey boxes. Particularly in Central Europe and Russia, modern assembly methods and 100 years of experience in planning prefabricated buildings...

The book promotes a landscape approach as a method for understanding and addressing the complex interdependent issues of environmental and climatic change, ecological degradation, and socio-cultural inequalities. The twenty-three book essays are...

Green Obsession traces the long path that architect Stefano Boeri and his studio - Stefano Boeri Architetti - have followed in the last fifteen years of practice, aiming at the redefinition of the relationship between city and nature. The book follows a...

Projective Ecologies takes stock of the diversity of contemporary ecological research and theory - embracing Felix Guattari's broader definition of ecology as at once environmental, social, and existential - and speculates on potential paths forward for...

Unless dissects the construction ecology, material geographies, and world-systems of a most modern of modern architectures: the Seagram Building.In doing so, this book aims to describe how humans and nature interact with the thin crust of the planet...

Design with Life chronicles the breakthroughs and projects of a nonprofit that is defining resolute new directions in socio-ecological design and other deep-seated intersections of synthetic biology, architecture, and urban systems. In the challenging...

From the world's leading publisher of Architecture and Architectural Practices, comes a look into how VTN Architects have used bamboo to create groundbreaking projects. With the climate crisis raging and awareness of humanity's...

Life's game is measured in episodes of awareness, ie, self-awareness, an awareness of the way things work, or that things are not always what they seem. Systems dynamics are full of shocks to the system. Whether we are witnessing the physics of a...

The evolution of contemporary environmental architecture has outstripped simple labels. A deeper pattern is emerging where the most innovative buildings are a response to place. They resolve the complex intertwining of the site, people and environment,...

Ambiguous Territory brings together the work of over forty architects, landscape architects, artists, and historians engaged in an exploration of art and design's place in a time of environmental uncertainty and existential threat. Conceived in both...

An in-depth look at how tent cities and containers could possibly be the best short-term housing solution for displaced persons.In common with politicians, architects were caught unawares by the largest wave of migration since the end of the Second World...

As climate, culture, and technology evolve and become increasingly unpredictable, architecture's stasis becomes more incongruous. Werewolf explores an emerging but under-investigated branch of architecture that embraces the transformation of form,...

How do we make sense of the Earth at a moment in which it is presented in crisis? Geostories is a manifesto for the environmental imagination that renders sensible the issues of climate change and through geographic fiction invites readers to relate to...

After 40 years of professional experience developed in three areas of work -City-Territory, Landscape-Public Space and Building-, Batlle i Roig acquires a new commitment and positions itself in the face of the climate emergency, generating a...

How to Achieve Style and SustainabilityGreen Interior Designis the most comprehensive guide to sustainable building, designing, and decorating on the market. This beautifully illustrated guide covers every detail of your home - from the drywall to the...

How the mindset of traditional Japanese society can guide our own efforts to lead a green lifestyle today.If we want to live sustainably, how should we feel about nature? About waste? About our forests and rivers? About food? Just Enough is a book of...

The traditional American devices contained in this intriguing compilation date from an era long before milking machines, pesticide sprayers, and industrial hay bailers. Yet the simple inventions described for doing everything from managing young bulls to...

Most people use nail polish remover to remove nail polish. They use coffee grounds to make coffee and hair dryers to dry their hair. The majority of people may also think that the use of eggs, lemons, mustard, butter, and mayonnaise should be restricted...

Learn the logistics of choosing windows, insulation, appliances, and lighting. Find out about FSC certified wood and about using reclaimed materials. Here is everything you need to make your home sustainable.Whether the reader is building a new home or...

A continuation of Lloyd Kahn's journeys into the creative processes of owner-built homes - their innovative techniques, use of sustainable materials, and essential dedication to the natural elements surrounding their designs...

This is a thorough, non-technical handbook and guide to the basics of septic systems - the physical process that takes place in the septic system and the simple technology needed to make it work. Emphasis is on conventional...

Grow vegetables year-round in a greenhouse powered only by solar energy Originally developed in China to feed millions, Chinese greenhouses are earth-sheltered, solar-heated, east-west oriented, intelligently glazed, and well-insulated. They have proven...

Simple green roof design and installation for the do-it-yourself builder Essential Green Roof Construction is a comprehensive, in-depth guide to building simple green roofs for houses and small buildings. Packed with detailed photos, illustrations, case...

The devil is in the details - the science and art of designing and building durable, efficient, straw bale buildings Straw bale buildings promise superior insulation and flexibility across a range of design aesthetics, while using a typically...

Natural plasters made of clay, lime, and other materials mixed with sand are beautiful building finishes. Fun to work with, low-impact, and allowing infinite creativity, they are high performance and provide proven, centuries-long durability.Yet until...

Earthbag construction - building with polypropylene bags usually filled with earthen materials - is a versatile, easy-to-master, low-impact, and highly durable form of building, suitable for structures from houses to root cellars.Containing over 75...

Design your own sustainable homeMany people dream of building a beautiful, environmentally friendly home. But until now there has been no systematic guide to help potential builders work through the complete process of imagining, planning, designing, and...

The completely revised and updated comprehensive guide to small wind energy systems. Skyrocketing energy costs and constant reminders of the impacts of conventional energy sources are making homeowners and businesses look at different ways to use energy...

Fresh, local nutrient-dense fruits vegetables are hard to find in winter in cold climates. Growing warm-weather crops like tomatoes, bananas, avocados, and other perennials is nearly impossible using conventional structures. The solution for millions of...

Hempcrete is a versatile, energy-efficient natural insulation material, useful for walls, roofs, and floors. Made from the inner stem of the hemp plant mixed with a lime-based binder, it is a very strong, lightweight and breathable alternative to...

Japan is equally as well known for its ecologically-sensitive traditional homes as it is for cutting-edge, green technology. Eco Living Japan presents 19 contemporary Japanese houses which exemplify the most recent trends in sustainable design in Japan...

Sustainable Luxury presents twenty-seven recent residential projects created by Singapore's most talented architects to address the urgent challenges of sustainability. Singapore is a prosperous, forward-looking nation that is...

"Architect and author Chuck Durrett's recently released book Senior Cohousing Handbook comes at a time of high interest in greening, sustainable housing and affordable living concerns. Durrett's new book is a comprehensive guide for baby boomers wishing...

The cohousing "bible" by the US originators of the concept.

To ensure food security and restore the health of the planet, we need to move beyond industrial agriculture and return to the practice of small-scale, local farming. Bioshelter Market Garden: A Permaculture Farm describes the creation of a sustainable...

Finding community is as critical as obtaining food and shelter, since the need to belong is what makes us human. The isolation and loneliness of modern life have led many people to search for deeper connection, which has resulted in a renewed interest in...

For most of human history, people have lived in durable, comfortable buildings made from natural materials such as soil, sand, rocks, and fiber. All over the globe, these ancient traditions persist; a quarter to a third of the world's population today...