Ceramic Houses and Earth Architecture: How to Build Your Own

Author(s): Nader Khalili

Publisher: Cal-Earth Press

Paperback: 233 pages

ISBN: 1889625019

ISBN-13: 978-1889625010

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Reprint Edition

Paperback Publication date: September 1996

How to build, step by step, an adobe and ceramic architecture that is affordable and self-help. How to build arches, vaults, domes, and utilize the natural energy of wind, sun-and-shade to help save forests and create a sustainable architecture. How to fire and glaze an entire building after it is constructed from clay-earth on site. A NEW UPDATE CHAPTER introducing the Superadobe technology, building with almost any on-site soil using sandbags and barbed wire.

Internationally renowned architect Nader Khalili, creator of the ‘Superadobe’ earth bag style of building shows step-by-step how to construct, glaze, and fire adobe and rammed earth buildings.

His message…told in a haunting mix of prose and poetry, of memory and idealism…is that we can teach the poor to build their own homes even though they have access to nothing more than dirt and community kilns.
— Fessenden Review

This is an extraordinary work. Though very much the personal expression of an impassioned visionary, Ceramic Houses is full of experiential advice, technical guidance, and encouragement to those who would join the author in his search for cheap, durable, attainable housing for much of the world.
— Fine Homebuilding

Build an Extreme Green Hot Water Solar Collector

Author: Phillip Rastocny

Format: Kindle Edition

File Size: 836 KB

ASIN: B0043EWW7S

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These instructions describe how to build a passive solar hot water collector using your existing hot water heater. This solar collector uses no pumps or additional electricity to operate and assembled without pipe bending. The instructions include a complete materials list with prices and part numbers from a large well known hardware store.

The Second Edition adds a solar-powered pump solution when collector positioing, long pipe runs, or other issues do not permit proper thermo-siphoning. Also included is a new appendix for troubleshooting common issues, and small changes in the text body with new illustrations to further clarify some of the existing steps.

This is an advanced project that requires good skills in silver soldering and custom plumbing fabrication.

Solar Radiation and Daylight Models for the Energy Efficient Design of Buildings

Author(s): H. Kambezidis, Tariq Muneer, Peter Tregenza

Publisher: Architectural Press (September 29, 1997)

Paperback: 224 pages

ISBN: 0750624957

ISBN-13: 978-0750624954

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Book & Cd-Rom Edition

This book and CD Rom package provides an accessible, user-friendly database on daylight design data. With the boom in interest in energy-efficiency and solar design, it provides a valuable source for architects and engineers.

It describes models which can be used to provide essential data at any place in the world. These models are included on a disk to ease the task of the architect or engineers. The authors show how these models can be applied to the energy efficient design of buildings.

—

‘The value of this book is that an expert in the subject has made a personal selection of applicable formulae, and presented them in a comprehensive and consistent format, both on paper and in the form of computer programs. Books such as this are indispensable references for the research worker and for the practising engineer.’
Peter Tregenza, The University of Sheffield

The Passive Solar House: Using Solar Design to Heat and Cool Your Home

Author(s): James Kachadorian

Publisher: Chelsea Green Pub Co

Paperback: 220 pages

ISBN: 0930031970

ISBN-13: 978-0930031978

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Published in concert with the Real Goods Trading Company of California, this book explains in detail the whys and wherefores of a particular form of passive solar design, formerly patented but now in the public domain. The patent was held by the author and used while he was president of Green Mountain Homes, a fabricator of post-and-beam kit homes. The science he used and describes here is settled and elegant, even quaint, and is detailed to a degree that could be off-putting to some readers. On the bright side, the enthusiasm he brings to the subject is useful, even to those prospective homebuilders who may not be interested in solar heating and cooling. The book is suffused with a sensitivity to environmental issues of all sorts, a useful perspective in these resource-limited times. An essentially simple book, elegant in presentation and forceful in argument; recommended for extensive scientific (for the references and associated calculations) and/or broader home-building collections. -Alexander Hartmann, INFOPHILE, Williamsport, Pa.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description

Finally there is a contemporary book that demonstrates the potential for heating and cooling a home with free energy. This new volume is a welcome addition to the canon of indispensable solar construction books, bringing fully up to date for the 1990s the legendary promise of 1970s-era solar pioneers: the promise of a home that heats and cools itself with minimal use of a back-up furnace.Whether you are adopting the model developed by Jim Kachadorian or using another designer’s layout and plan, The Passive Solar House will provide you with pragmatic, immediately applicable solar design advice that is usable in any region or climate. Information includes:
— Proper siting and strategic window selection and placement
— Energy and money-saving construction tips
— Ideal air-exchange rates, and ways to avoid overheating
— Methods for gauging and maximizing thermal mass
— Criteria for sizing of back-up heating systems
— Interior design for year-round comfort

This book is brimful of worthwhile, constructive how-to advice, and gives readers the basis for understanding the hows and whys of solar design, including a succinct presentation of ten key solar-design principles that have defined and guided solar architecture for thousands of years.

Card catalog description
This book offers a technique for building homes that heat and cool themselves in a wide range of different climates, using ordinary building materials available anywhere and with methods familiar to all building contractors and many do-it-yourselfers. A formerly patented design for author James Kachadorian’s Solar Slab heat exchanger is now available for the use of anyone motivated by the desire to build a house that needs a backup furnace or air conditioner rarely if ever. This is a building book for the next century. Applicable to a diversity of regions, climates, budgets, and styles of architecture, Kachadorian’s techniques translate the essentials of timeless solar design (siting a home in harmony with nature, using windows as solar collectors, achieving year-round comfort by balancing good insulation with healthy supplies of fresh air) into practical wisdom for today’s new generation of solar builders. Customer Comments bereznov@worldnet.att.net from Longmont, Colorado , 10/25/97, rating=9:
Passive solar design basics, formulae and needed databases An excellent book for the beginner in passive solar home design with a cookbook approach and worksheets to calculate the solar performance of you building design. Usefull tables needed for calculations are included but only for a limited number of localities. Based upon a sound, albiet more than 20 year old, approach to passive solar design. An easy to understand process for the design of a truely passive home with methods to determine the need for and cost of supplemental heat in many areas of the country. Principles throughout the book may be applied to other designs. A detailed explanation and instructions on building the solar slab. Well worth the price of admission!

Table of Contents
1. Let Nature Heat Your Home
2. The Passive Solar Concept
3. The Solar Slab and Basic Solar Design
4. Insulation, Venting, and Fresh Air
5. Basic Layouts and Floor Plans
6. How to Do the Solar Design Calculations
7. The Foundation Plan, and Backup Heating and Cooling
8. A Sidehill Variation, and Solar Design Worksheets
9. Sunspaces, and Special Design Considerations
10. Interior Design for Year-Round Comfort By Cornelia C. Kachadorian
App. 1. Solar Design Worksheets
App. 2. Solar Intensity and Solar Heat Gain Factors for 16 to 64 degrees North Latitude
App. 3. Thermal Properties of Typical Building and Insulating Materials (Design Values)
App. 4. North Latitude, Elevation, and Outside Winter Design Temperatures for Selected Cities in the U.S. and Canada
App. 5. Average Monthly and Yearly Degree Days for Cities in the U.S. and Canada
App. 6. Mean Percentage of Possible Sunshine for Selected Cities in the U.S. and Canada
App. 7. Isogonic Chart (Magnetic Declination)
Index

Small Houses (Great Houses)

Publisher: Taunton Press

Paperback: 160 pages

ISBN: 1561581062

ISBN-13: 978-1561581061

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Small Houses (Great Houses: Fine Homebuilding)

Paperback
September 1995
Color photos, floor plans.
160 pages

In these economically depressed times, which include a slumping housing market, how does one justify the appearance of another book on building a new home? This volume is the second in a three-book series made up of articles collected from 10 years of Fine Homebuilding . The 37 examples included here are carefully selected as the antidote for an industry in temporary decline. There’s more than a hint of a deliberate return to attitudes and concerns of the near past that were so smugly trashed in the ’80s: that small is better and that energy efficiency can help lead us to a more environmentally sound future. The shrinking availability and more effective use of space are pointedly addressed. The featured houses fit into modest plots of land, and are geared to suit the empty nesters, small families and singles, as well as the vacation or second home owner. The editors have assembled handsome and interesting design solutions that are stylistically American, from saltbox, barn and Victorian cottage to ranch house, urban studio apartment and cabin.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. –This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

Small houses are less expensive to build, more energy efficient, and easier to maintain than big homes, but they don’t have to feel small. In this collection of 37 articles from FINE HOMEBUILDING magazine, you’ll find new houses, remodels, urban rowhouses, and guest cottages that double as work studios. A book full of practical design ideas and construction information that will help you realize just how beautiful small can be.

The Not So Big House: A Blueprint for the Way We Really Live

Author(s): Sarah Susanka, Kira Obolensky (Contributor)

Publisher: Taunton Press

Hardcover: 199 pages

ISBN: 1561581305

ISBN-13: 978-1561581306

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When describing a favorite room in the house, do you find yourself using terms such as “expansive,” “formal,” and “spacious”–a marble foyer or a formal dining room perhaps? Or do the words “cozy,” “intimate,” and “warm” come to mind–a cheery little breakfast nook or a window seat complete with plenty of pillows and a breathtaking view? More than likely, you–like thousands of other homeowners–are drawn to the more personal spaces in your home, where comfort, beauty, and efficiency meet. In The Not So Big House, respected architect Sarah Susanka and coauthor Kira Obolensky address our affinity for the “smaller, more personal spaces” and propose “clear, workable guidelines for creating homes that serve both our spiritual needs and our material requirements.” The heart of the not-so-big house–which is not “just a small house … [but] a smaller house,” that uses “less space to give greater quality of life,” and is designed to not only “accommodate the lifestyles of its occupants” but also to express “our values and our personalities,” is discussed in chapter 1, entitled “Bigger Isn’t Better.” Susanka’s urging for homeowners to get creative with their space as well as loads of ideas to encourage that creativity are covered in “Rethinking the House” and “Making Not So Big Work.” Discussions of specific needs, such as a home for one and designing for kids, can be found in “Lifestyles of the Not So Rich and Famous,” while “Dreams, Details, and Dollars” gets down to the nuts and bolts of the operation, looking at quality versus quantity, budgeting, and what “low end,” “middle ground,” and “high end” really mean in home design and construction. Lastly, the authors look at the home of the future, which involves simplifying, recycling, reducing waste, and using energy-efficient construction. With more than 200 color photographs, as well as floor plans and Susanka and Obolensky’s intelligent and lively dialogue, The Not So Big House is perfect for homeowners ready to rethink their space. –Stefanie Hargreaves

From Library Journal

Architect Susanka believes that the large homes being built today place too much emphasis on square footage rather than on current lifestyles. Here she shows how homes can be designed to feature “adaptable spaces open to one another, designed for everyday use.” She describes how to examine occupants’ lifestyles, how to incorporate the kitchen as the focal point of the home, how to give the illusion of space, and how, with storage, lighting, and furniture arrangement, a smaller home can be comfortably livable. Photographs of contemporary homes as well as those by Frank Lloyd Wright and other modern architects illustrate Susanka’s ideas and show the timelessness of the style she advocates. This thought-provoking book will be a good addition to architectural and interior design collections.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

More Small Houses

Publisher: Fine Homebuilding

ISBN: 1561582786

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In this is new collection from Fine Homebuilding magazine, you’ll find 31 articles — each one a study in craft and efficiency of space. The homes include a mountain retreat, an island homestead, an urban row house, a timber-frame farmhouse, an apartment over a garage, a duplex with roof-top garden, a Craftsman-style cottage, a surprising number of towers and more. Some are simple, some elegant… but none are plain. As you would expect from Fine Homebuilding, the articles illustrate a wide variety of real world situations, clever design and superb craftsmanship. A thread of sustainable construction runs through many articles including descriptions of passive solar heating, water efficiency and super-insulation. Whether you’re remodeling your existing house or building a new one, More Small Houses will inspire you to think big about small spaces. Hardcover,160 pages, 1998

The Oregon Experiment (Center for Environmental Structure Series)

Author(s): Christopher Alexander

Publisher: Oxford Univ Pr (Trade)

ISBN: 0195018249

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The Oregon Experiment

Hardcover, 190 pages

Focusing on a plan for an extension to the University of Oregon, this book shows how any community the size of a university or small town might go about designing its own future environment with all members of the community participating personally or by representation. It is a brilliant companion volume to A Pattern Language.

About the Author

Christopher Alexander, winner of the first medal for research ever awarded by the American Institute of Architects, is an architect and builder who has built in many countries. He is also Professor of Architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, and Director of the Center for Environmental Structure.

A New Theory of Urban Design (Center for Environmental Structure Series, Vol 6)

Author(s): Christopher Alexander (Contributor), Hajo Neis, Artemis Anninou, ingr King

Publisher: Oxford Univ Pr (Trade)

ISBN: 0195037537

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A New Theory of Urban Design (Center for Environmental Structure Series, Vol 6)

Hardcover, 251 pages
Publication date: November 1987

The venerable cities of the past, such as Venice or Amsterdam, convey a feeling of wholeness, an organic unity that surfaces in every detail, large and small, in restaurants, shops, public gardens, even in balconies and ornaments. But this sense of wholeness is lacking in modern urban design, with architects absorbed in problems of individual structures, and city planners preoccupied with local ordinances, it is almost impossible to achieve.

In this groundbreaking volume, the newest in a highly-acclaimed series by the Center for Environmental Structure, architect and planner Christopher Alexander presents a new theory of urban design which attempts to recapture the process by which cities develop organically. To discover the kinds of laws needed to create a growing whole in a city, Alexander proposes here a preliminary set of seven rules which embody the process at a practical level and which are consistent with the day-to-day demands of urban development.

He then puts these rules to the test, setting out with a number of his graduate students to simulate the urban redesign of a high-density part of San Francisco, initiating a project that encompassed some ninety different design problems, including warehouses, hotels, fishing piers, a music hall, and a public square. This extensive experiment is documented project by project, with detailed discussion of how each project satisfied the seven rules, accompanied by floorplans, elevations, street grids, axonometric diagrams and photographs of the scaled-down model which clearly illustrate the discussion.

A New Theory of Urban Design provides an entirely new theoretical framework for the discussion of urban problems, one that goes far to remedy the defects which cities have today.

About the Author:

Christopher Alexander, winner of the first medal for research ever awarded by the American Institute of Architects, is a practicing architect and contractor, Professor of Architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, and Director of the Center for Environmental Structure.

A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction

Author(s): Christopher Alexander, Sara Ishikawa, Murray Silverstein

Publisher: Oxford Univ Press

ISBN: 0195019199

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Hardcover, 1171 pages

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The second of three books published by the Center for Environmental Structure to provide a “working alternative to our present ideas about architecture, building, and planning,” A Pattern Language offers a practical language for building and planning based on natural considerations. The reader is given an overview of some 250 patterns that are the units of this language, each consisting of a design problem, discussion, illustration, and solution. By understanding recurrent design problems in our environment, readers can identify extant patterns in their own design projects and use these patterns to create a language of their own. Extraordinarily thorough, coherent, and accessible, this book has become a bible for homebuilders, contractors, and developers who care about creating healthy, high-level design.

Customer Comments 11/07/97, rating=9:
A Pattern Language presents a compelling case for the influence of space, buildings, and landscape on human endeavors. We often overlook this force, accustomed as we are to accommodating spatial limitations and design flaws. But try entering any room and ignoring the cues of memory and social constraints – you will doubtless be drawn to the window in the room.

Alexander and his contributing editors present a series of patterns that operate universally on the mood and activities of people using spaces. “Light on Two Sides,” for example, is a pattern describing the impact of light entering a room from two directions. Functionally, this arrangement softens light by cancelling the harsh shadows that arise from a single light direction. Emotionally, this makes a room more pleasant to live and work in, and may of its own accord encourage certain activities.

Alexander’s huge study of over 200 patterns is at once modest and sweeping. He details patterns with care, and offers sketches and photographs to illustrate them, along with an unassuming voice. Above all, he demystifies architecture itself, calling upon any reader to assume a role in the design process. Despite this humility, the significance of Alexander’s vision is always present. In the end, he is constructing a formula for social utopiaÐan architectural prescription for living well and wisely. From integrating children and senior citizens into the daily life of a community to revealing the advantages of mixed use commercial and residential zoning, Alexander proposes ideas that can successfully animate any town’s master planning efforts.

Read this book if you’re designing house, working with an architect, looking for a new house, or contributing to your city’s planning commission. You will doubtless come away with a heightened appreciation for the influence of space on your choices and activities.