Ecological Architecture

topics

Publishers

Architecture

ISBN: 9780500342107
English edition
Thames & Hudson
Hardcover, 272 pages
22,8 x 25,4 cm
colour/black & white
2005
€36,75 (excl. VAT)

Ecological Architecture

A Critical History

James Steele

Ecological Architecture charts the ascendancy of an ecological approach to building over the past century, assessing as it does so the situation as it stands today, and identifying where we might go next. As a decisive step in the rewriting of the history of modern architecture, this book will be essential reading for practitioners and students of architecture; as an urgent wake-up call concerning the state of our built environment, it will be of interest to everyone with a stake in the future of our planet.

After an introduction to the terminology of ecological architecture – comparing the usages of ‘green’ and ‘sustainable’ as variants – the book is organized into three parts:

Part One identifies the recurring themes in ecological architecture, including energy efficiency, harmonious relationships with the environment and suitabililty of building types for specific conditions.
Part Two is made up of over twenty case studies focusing on a specific architect, movement or area, which analyse key projects to highlight specific themes in ecological architecture.The inclusion of Le Corbusier, Buckminster Fuller, Rudolf Schindler and others is a reminder that the sweeping science-led ‘progress’ that characterized much of the modern movement is not the full story.
Part Three looks to the future and to where ecological architecture might go next as it struggles to deal with global urbanization.

About the author: James Steele is Professor of Architecture at the University of Southern California. His previous publications have concentrated on architecture in the Middle East and Far East.