“Green” Book Reviews

by Aria Finkelstein, Southface intern

The Southface reading library is a valuable resource of books, periodicals, and product files. It is open to the public from Monday-Friday, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm and Saturday, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm. We are always trying to expand and update our library, and our goal is to have the library database online at www.southface.org. In addition to posting reviews like these, a book request form and wish list for those able to donate books will be available online. Donated publications will be labeled with a donor acknowledgement.

We have reviewed some recent additions to our library. Please feel free to send us your book reviews as well.

Sustainable Architecture White Papers, Earth Pledge

Published in 2000, Sustainable Architecture White Papers remains current and addresses many of the concerns still central to the green building movement and sustainability issues. As white papers, each piece is succinct, usually addressing one specific issue.

Nevertheless, this collection of white papers touches on the broader context of the environment and building culture. The collection achieves a balance between the specific and the general, going from detailing individual technologies to discussing design trends and even the moral and spiritual grounds for the sustainability movement.

The collection, although it is occasionally unsatisfying for lack of extensive explanations, is impassioned and inspiring. Each paper demands fundamental changes in the way we perceive the built environment, and the cumulative effect of the collection is a clear call for action and innovation.

Paul Hawken introduces the collection as a reaction to and a step away from building practices that produce buildings harmful to their inhabitants and the environment. “The impact of this shoddiness is equally degrading to people and the environment.” The writers, coming from backgrounds in academia, industry, and policy, conceive of a built environment radically different from the one in which we now live. They consider building, design, and the environment from many angles, spanning architecture to neighborhood development to city planning, and specific case studies illustrate their concerns and visions, making them concrete and demonstrable. However, many of the writers infuse their discussions with a concern for morality, spirituality, and the global condition.

The writers assembled in the Sustainable Architecture White Papers envision a new set of practices where buildings are an integrated and fruitful part of their ecosystem. Lessening environmental impact is not good enough, they emphasize to the reader. The contributors insist not only that buildings be less damaging and inflict less harm on the environment but that they actually support it. As William McDonough and Michael Braungart write, “Imagine a building like a tree, a city like a forest.”

Mixed-Use Development Handbook, Urban Land Institute

The Mixed-Use Development Handbook is a comprehensive guide to planning and developing city centers that are used for retail, housing, office and recreational spaces. The handbook discusses the entire process of developing a mixed-use center, from choosing a location to maintaining the project after it is completed.

Heavily marketing centered, there is a long section which looks at the relationship between the individual businesses and the entire development and how to market each. Many of the handbook’s considerations come down to place-making, that is, how to make a mixed-use development into a functioning part of the city and a “destination.”

The book is fairly detailed, going through the development process with these steps: (1) evaluating markets and development potential, (2) feasibility analysis and financing, (3) the public sector’s involvement in mixed-use development, (4) planning and design, (5) marketing and promotion, and (6) operations, management, and maintenance. In addition, there is a long section of case studies, which is perhaps most interesting to a layperson. These case studies detail the creation, design, and successes and lessons learned from mixed-use developments around the globe.

The book touts itself as a handbook, providing tools for people in the real estate business, and it follows through. For a layperson, much of the information in the book is easily understandable but perhaps uninteresting. For developers, however, the book is a useful resource that outlines general principles well and points to examples of development would prove invaluable as background to new projects.

The New Ecological Home, Daniel D. Chiras

The New Ecological Home details the principles of green building in a way that is completely understandable to beginners. Chiras includes sections on energy efficiency, landscaping, materials and different greenbuilding techniques.

Although the book is part of the Chelsea Green Guides for Homeowners series, it is almost entirely aimed at people building new homes, and is primarily directed at those building their own homes (custom or ‘acting as general contractor’). Although Chiras does not provide enough detailed information to start building, for instance, one’s own straw bale home, he gives enough direction to determine if a straw bale house is appropriate.

The author’s attention to practical detail is helpful, keeping in mind financial constraints as well as less obvious ones, such as where to find suppliers or workers for specific building techniques.

As far as environmental concerns, Chiras provides some background on traditional building practices and their impact on the planet. In particular, he discusses the embodied energy of materials. Included in this is the energy used in their manufacture, transportation, and installation as well as their life-cycle costs—social, environmental, and economic costs from conception to disposal. These are concerns he revisits throughout the book.

Chiras outlines the principles of green building and then carries them through his discussion of the design and building process. He keeps environmental concerns at the surface of The New Ecological Home, but he focuses more on matters that directly affect the builder, such as immediate and long-term costs, durability, comfort and aesthetics.

The author clearly has a handle on the market and developments in green building, detailing the pros and cons of materials that are time-tested and the pitfalls and potentials of newer, more experimental materials. Throughout, the capacities of the owner-builder are accounted for, and Chiras is very clear about what first-time homebuilders can do on their own and what portions of the project require outside or contracted help.

Independent Builder: Designing and Building A House Your Own Way, Sam Clark

Sam Clark writes from the experience of building his own home.As he writes in the introduction, the first time he worked on an owner-designed and built house, there were few resources available for someone who did not know the industry. As a result, he published a book in 1978 to make the building process easier. Now, he has updated it to reflect modern building practices, new technologies and broader design principles.
His book is a comprehensive guide, beginning with general concepts that are fundamental to good design and moving to specifics on actual construction. He discusses the basics of building a house, addressing the details that a builder would take for granted and a layperson might not even know to consider.

Clark’s attention to specifics is present, not only for foundations, walls, plumbing and mechanical systems, but also for aesthetics and comfort. In his section on ergonomics, Clark helps the owner-builder plan the house based on how people will move throughout it. The section on sustainability provides a short introduction to green building, and many of its concerns are echoed throughout the book.

Most importantly, however, Clark consistently emphasizes comfort and ease for the future residents. He never forgets that although the resident is building a house, ultimately, it’s a home.