Author(s): Sim Van Der Ryn, Stuart Cowan
Publisher: Island Press
ISBN: 1559633883
Order From: Amazon.com
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Hardcover, 200 pages
Synopsis:
Ecological Design presents a vision of how the living world and the human world can be rejoined by taking ecology as the basis for design–adapting and integrating human design with natural processes. The authors weave together case studies, personal anecdotes, images and theory to provide a thorough treatment of the concept of ecological design.
Card catalog description
Ecological design, the marriage of nature and technology, can be applied at all levels of scale to create revolutionary forms of buildings, landscapes, cities, and technologies. Some examples include sewage treatment plants that use constructed marshes to purify water; agricultural systems that mimic and merge with their surrounding landscapes; industrial ecosystems in which waste from one productive process becomes fuel for the next. The authors weave together case studies, personal anecdotes, dialogues, images, and theory to provide a thorough treatment of the concept of ecological design. In the process, they present and explain a series of design principles that can help build a sustainable world with increased efficiency, fewer toxics, less pollution, and healthier natural systems. –This text refers to the paperback edition of this title.
Table of Contents
Pt. 1. Bringing Design to Life
- Sustainability and Design
- An Introduction to Ecological Design
- Nature’s Geometry
Pt. 2. The Ecological Design Process
- Introduction: The Compost Privy Story
- First Principle: Solutions Grow from Place
- Second Principle: Ecological Accounting Informs Design
- Third Principle: Design with Nature
- Fourth Principle: Everyone Is a Designer
- Fifth Principle: Make Nature Visible
Resource Guide for Ecological Design
Bibliography
Index
