Green Building Handbook: Volume 1: A Guide to Building Products and their Impact on the Environment

Author(s): T. Woolley

Publisher: E & Fn Spon

Paperback: 224 pages

ISBN: 0419226907

ISBN-13: 978-0419226901

Order From: Amazon.com
(links will open in a new window)

Environmentally responsible building involves resolving many conflicting issues and requirements. Each stage in the design process from the fundamental decisions about what, where and even whether to build has implications for the environment.
Evolving out of the success of Green Building Digest, a publication described by Building Design as well-researched, authoritative and exhaustive, this practical new handbook considers the environmental issues which relate to the production, use and disposal of key building products and materials. It is designed to help specifiers and purchasers gain awareness of the potential environmental impact of their decisions.
Chapter by chapter Green Building Handbook looks at a different sector of the trade from flooring to roofing, comparing the environmental effects of commonly available products with less well known green alternatives. A Best Buy section then ranks these products from lowest to highest impact.

Our Ecological Footprint: Reducing Human Impact on the Earth (New Catalyst Bioregional Series)

Author(s): Mathis Wackernagel, William Rees, Phil Testemale (Illustrator)

Publisher: New Society Publishers

ISBN: 086571312X

ISBN-13: 978-0865713123

Order From: Amazon.com
(links will open in a new window)

Paperback
Publication date: July 1, 1998

05/12/1998:
Reducing Human Impact on Earth; down to earth concepts and simple math…a great resource!

from Masai, Johor, Malaysia, 09/07/97, rating=8:
Thought provoking, jolts one from the rat race… I stumbled upon this book in the journal D&G, at a time I was thinking hard about the direction of the civilization. So I ordered one. It was an unassuming book, neatly printed and illustrated with black and white caricatures. At first I thought it was a mistake to order such a book. But as I read on, the insights of the authors emerged, so profound, yet so simply explained. Really, after swallowing all the contents for five consecutive nights, one will ask, How come I did not think of this??. The concept is vivid : it tried to explain what the ecological footprint means : how much of land is required to support yourself. And it turned out that there is already not enough for the world. Further proliferation of current lifestyles is suicidal. The authors devoted a whole long chapter on proposals of alternative lifestyles. These are nowhere hardcore technical, rest assured. They are blindingly simple, and yet hard to swallow. Just ask any Tom, Dick and Harry whether he or she wants such a life, you will get an awkward stare : are you in your right mind? The authors may be right, but when we have gone so far astray, we have forgotten the road from which we come. This book cannot score 10 points, though. The examples on how an economy can develop without growth are not solid enough. While the writers are not economists, to force the reader to think twice about current lifestyles, they must fork out a marvellous thesis, which has yet to be clearly stated. This is a good book at the introductory level. Although it sometimes touch on the Second Law of Thermodynamics, the reader is not expected to have an a priori understanding. It’s explanation is vivid and simple. While it may insult Professors and those high brow academics, it is a book easy to follow. Worth a try.

Audubon House – Building the Environmentally Responsible, Energy-Efficient Office

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

ISBN: 0471024961

Order From: Amazon.com
(links will open in a new window)

Synopsis:
The behind-the-scenes story of the construction of one of the world’s most environmentally sound buildings in the heart of New York City–the headquarters of the Audubon Society. Audubon and the Croxton architects sought to make Audubon House a model for design professionals around the world.

Card catalog description
Audubon House is the inspiring story of how the Audubon/Croxton team converted a 19th-century architectural masterpiece into one of the most environmentally advanced buildings ever designed. Providing a model that can be followed by owners, developers, architects, and building professionals, this book demonstrates how environmental criteria, such as sustainable use of resources, energy efficiency, and air quality can be achieved without sacrificing traditional considerations of cost, functionality, and aesthetics. Built at market cost and using only off-the-shelf technology, Audubon House is sixty percent more energy efficient than the conventional approach would have been. It saves its owners a projected $100,000 dollars annually in operating expenses, and supports an extraordinarily practical, healthy, and handsome office environment. The book is organized into two parts. Part I introduces the project and describes what members of the Audubon team discovered about the environmental impact of buildings and the types of systems that can mitigate this impact. Part II presents four essential systems at Audubon House: lighting, heating and cooling, ventilation and indoor air quality, and recycling. Particular attention is paid to the way in which these systems work together, each contributing to the performance of the whole. These goals could only be realized through the close cooperation of the architects, interior designers, environmentalists, engineers, research scientists, and contractors who collaborated on the project. The description of this collaborative process is as central to the theme of this book as the building’s many design innovations and energy-saving features. Richly illustrated with professional photographs and architectural drawings, Audubon House is both a guidepost for environmentally sound construction and an inspiring chronicle of hope for all environmentally concerned citizens.

The publisher, John Wiley & Sons:
In 1992, the National Audubon Society completed construction on one of the most environmentally advanced edifices ever built. The building’s success is due equally to the new technologies implemented, sound economic principles used to guide the project and the special collaborative approach of the design and construction team. This lavishly illustrated book examines all three elements in a manner that will show others how these principles can be applied to create buildings with improved environmental performance.

Table of Contents

TOWARD A SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE
The Built Environment: Counting the Costs
Dimensions of Sustainable Design

INSIDE AUDUBON HOUSE
Lighting and Other Energy Efficiencies
Heating, Cooling, and Energy at Audubon
The Healthy Workplace: Ventilation and Materials
Recycling at Audubon: Closing the Loop
Conclusion: A Success in the Making
Appendices
Index.