Basics Landscape Architecture 02: Ecological Design provides an overview of ecological design and planning for landscape architects. It explores the concepts and themes important to the contemporary practice of ecological design and planning in a highly accessible and richly illustrated format. Focusing primarily on urban environments, this book examines the relationships between ecological design theory and design methods. It describes and illustrates the basic structures and fun...

After more than a century of heroic urban visions, urban dwellers today live in suburban subdivisions, gated communities, edge cities, apartment towers, and slums. The contemporary cities we know are more often the embodiment of unexpected outcomes and unintended consequences rather than visionary planning.As an alternative approach for rethinking and remaking today’s cities and regions, this book explores the intersections of critical inquiry and immediate, substantive actions. Th...

In The Philosophy of Sustainable Design, McLennan outlines the major ideas and issues that have emerged in the growing movement of green architecture and sustainable design over the last thirty years. This book is intended as a starting point for anyone involved in the building industry on a journey to learn how they can build more responsibly. The book is rooted in practical knowledge but rather than being a ‘howto book’ asks individuals to understand how the philosophy of sustainable des...

The highly acclaimed manual for changing everyday habits-now in an all-newthird edition!We are consuming resources and polluting our environment at a rate that is outstripping our planet's ability to support us. To create a sustainable future, we must not only change our own actions, we must educate and encourage those around us to change theirs. If one individual recycles his plastic containers, the impact is minimal. But if an entire community recycles, enormous ...

Reshaping Environments: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Sustainability in a Complex World draws together a team of specialist authors from disciplines including urban planning, social sciences, engineering and environmental science to examine the diverse influences humans have upon the natural environment. This interdisciplinary approach presents multifaceted responses for complex environmental issues. The book explores current environmental science theories to provide a solid foundation ...

A visionary yet practical guide to building a more sustainable future, by one of the most important voices in environmentally aware designAre there practical solutions to the many global challenges—climate change, poverty, insufficient healthcare—that threaten our way of life? Author John Thackara has spent a lifetime roving the globe in search of design that serves human needs. In this clear-eyed but ultimately optimistic book, he argues that, in our eagerness to ...

Tim Beatley has long been a leader in advocating for the "greening" of cities. But too often, he notes, urban greening efforts focus on everything except nature, emphasizing such elements as public transit, renewable energy production, and energy efficient building systems. While these are important aspects of reimagining urban living, they are not enough, says Beatley. We must remember that human beings have an innate need to connect with the natural world (the biophilia hypothesis). And ...

Written by the chair of the LEED-Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) initiative, Sustainable Urbanism: Urban Design with Nature is both an urgent call to action and a comprehensive introduction to "sustainable urbanism"--the emerging and growing design reform movement that combines the creation and enhancement of walkable and diverse places with the need to build high-performance infrastructure and buildings.Providing a historic perspective on the standards and regulations ...

Sustainability may seem like one more buzzword, and cities and towns like the last places to change, but The Natural Step for Communities provides inspiring examples of communities that have made dramatic changes toward sustainability, and explains how others can emulate their success.Chronicled in the book are towns like Övertorneå, whose government operations recently became 100 per cent fossil fuel-free, demonstrating that unsustainable municipal practices really can ...

"With this book, Robin Guenther and Gail Vittori show us how critical our green building mission is to the future of human health and secures a lasting legacy that will continue to challenge and focus the green building movement, the healthcare industry, and the world for years to come."—From the Foreword by Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO and Founding Chair, U.S. Green Building CouncilINDISPENSABLE REFERENCE FOR THE FUTURE OF SUSTAINABLE HEALTHCARE DESIGN

The process-oriented guide to context-sensitive site selection, planning, and designSustainable design is responsive to context. And each site has a unique set of physical, biological, cultural, and legal attributes that presents different opportunities and constraints for alternative uses of the site. Site analysis systematically evaluates these on-site and off-site factors to inform the design of places-including neighborhoods and communities-that are attractive,...

"When nature inspires our architecture-not just how it looks but how buildings and communities actually function-we will have made great strides as a society. Biophilic Design provides us with tremendous insight into the 'why,' then builds us a road map for what is sure to be the next great design journey of our times."-Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO and Founding Chairman, U.S. Green Building Council"Having seen firsthand in my company the power of biomimicry to stimulate a w...