When we look at the future that is coming tomorrow, and we realize that something must be done, when our hearts are screaming for change, we look to a strategy for that change that not only makes sense, but works, and has been working for a while.

Europe, North America and Australia are all on the band wagon now, and they werent teaching this stuff to architects twenty years ago; but now, everybody wants it, and sustainability is in demand.

But for an area that has a plethora of possibilities, the professional, or even the average home owner, can become baffled from the information overload that comes from such a multidisciplinary area.

This book shows a deeper understanding of design issues that occur in this field, especially when we talk about actually delivering on a project.

Be they small dwellings or large commercial buildings; sustainable development, site, ecology, community, culture, health, materials, energy and water all need to be contemplated and the bigger picture needs to be understood as a whole and Strategies for Sustainable Architecture takes us through that understanding with precise examples of projects that have been there and done that.

This 306-page paperback, written by Paoloa Sassi, has over 400 illustrations, was first published by Taylor and Francis in July of 2006, measuring 10.8 x 8.6 x 0.8 and ships at 2.6 pounds.

If you want to make a change for the better, for a future that is coming sooner rather than later and you are looking for better strategies for sustainable architecture, this book was written just for you, with an eye on a better quality of life for everyone on Earth.

Harvested with great cost, usually at the sacrifice of underground caves, some of natures most precious environments.

That gray powder that acts as the buildings most efficient glue may be older than the continent itself, so by reading books like this, and doing it ourselves, we can be certain to use it as wisely as possible, like a warrior society, that protects, both in war and peace.

The comparative price tag on concrete however is not like the price tag on oil, it doesnt effect our pockets directly, but the fact is, civilization needs to start recycling and making the best possible use of concrete, whenever and wherever possible.

Maybe the concrete industry will catch up sooner rather than later, but right now, you need all the information you can muster, to do the job that builds both muscle and a powerful form of pride that relies on doing it ourselves.

Working with Concrete is an excellent book for those looking to build a concrete foundation themselves, complete with illustrations, photos and detailed explanation on all the ins and outs of this heavy-duty side of DIY construction work.

Waterproofing, drainage, formwork, reinforcement, excavation issues and even design, this book takes you through all the most important issues dealt with in doing concrete work yourself and making sure that it lasts.

This is an excellent guide to help you make sure that your concrete foundations and structures are completely prepared to take on the next 1000 years or so, without ever having to deal with leaks or weaknesses that can be overlooked by even the most professional urban contractors interested in cutting corners.

If you are the kind of person that cares about your environment, and want to make sure that your concrete work is done properly and cheaply with wisdom, to really withstand millenniums; Working with Concrete will give you all the notions of what needs to be done to make sure that everything is done properly the first time, allowing your structure to really take on the future, efficiently.

This 192-page paperback, was written by Rick Arnold, published by Taunton in May of 2003, measuring 10.8 x 8.4 x 0.5 and ships at 1 lb.

Working with Concrete will help you take control of your concrete laying projects, helping you make a choice about how one of Mother Natures most precious resources is smartly used.

Related Website:
Sustainable Development with Concrete – The Concrete Thinker is a web site to “help design professionals make sustainable design a reality”.

Living sustainably is not just about being self-reliant, its about all the factors that go into becoming a good steward of Earth, and that includes not just ones home, but ones neighborhood and all of the community around that neighborhood.

People. It all boils down to people spending resources and energy, then, throwing the leftovers back into nature, without even dealing with them in such a way as to replenish properly.

We need to take care of this planet, and we need to make sure that we take care of the people around us, because we can only make a change, if we all work together on this, and that means investing not only in our own homes, but in those around us.

One home, a neighborhood of homes, a whole community of homes; how can we give back in a beneficial way, to offset ecological footprints, or how can we make people aware of the dangers pollution brings?

Mick Winter gives pointers on how to get everyone involved, how to get everyone to share, together, as a whole, for a more sustainable way of life that starts now.

This 163-page paperback, written by Mick Winter, first published by Wetsong in March of 2007, measures 8.8 x 6 x 0.5 and ships at 7.2 ounces.

Short, clear-cut and concise information about sustainable living, for home, neighborhood and community, this book has low-cost ideas to help the reader save energy, money and the planet, all in one.

Long-term value, health, safety, efficiency, beauty, durability, energy costs, allergies or even concern for the old growth forests; whatever your worry with traditional building materials and manufacturer specifications, this fully indexed and easily navigated tome for those looking to build or remodel a residential home will find everything in one place.

Each chapter comes with tips and suggestions on what to look for in a green product and help you make your own choices when actually in the store and evaluating the potentials a product may or may not have, yourself.

Design, build or remodel with: eco-friendly distributors and retailers, renewable energy, furniture and furnishings, appliances, plumbing, electrical and lighting, mechanical systems, HVAC, painting and coatings, caulks and adhesives, interior finish and trim, flooring and floor coverings, insulation, doors and windows, roofing, exterior finish and trim, sheathing, structural systems and components, foundations, footers and slabs, decking, outdoor structures, sitework and landscaping, its all here and up-to-date with over 1,400 environmentally friendly products and materials.

This 338-page paperback, edited by Alex Wilson and Mark Piepkorn, published by New Society in its second edition as of July 2006 and mearsures 10.8 x 8.3 x 0.9.

Green Building Products is the perfect tool for those interested in building with offsetting materials, where you can find them, contact information and all phases of the residential construction for a more environmentally friendly approach.

Online Media:
U.S. Green Building Council

The energy flow of a building can be cut down to three important factors, heating, cooling and lighting, but what are the most sustainable designs for the building or structure you find yourself creating at any given moment?

Taking a look at sustainability from a practical viewpoint and taking into account the vernacular world of low tech as well as the modern world of synthetic materials, we can get the best of both worlds, creating beauty that is self-reliant, cheaper and in the long run, will do a better job than the conventional architecture we have inherited from the 20^th century alone.

Knowing exactly what decision to make, and knowing exactly where to make that decision is an important element in being an efficient architect, and one of the most important tools for decision making that we have as designers are our books.

In the realm of sustainability, those books with good bibliographies, indexes, annotated appendices and all those valuable formulas that make architecture the exact science that it is, will stay in our work libraries while, others, will get passed onto friends and colleges as presents.

Heating, Cooling, Lighting: Design Methods for Architects is one of those books that is going to stay in the work library of most professionals in this ever-expanding area that brings promises of a healthier society for the future.

This 640-page hardcover, written by Norbert Lechner, was published by Wiley in its second edition in December of 2000, measuring 11 x 8.5 x 1.5 and shipping at 3.6 pounds.

Techniques, building with greendesign, diagrams, decision making, conservation, mathematical formulas and understanding heating, cooling, lighting from a more stustainable point of view with design methods for architects, this isbasic reading for the undergraduate of today, looking to make a difference in the future.

Example:
The Sun Emulator – Solar responsive design.

All of us know what it would mean to get away from the troubles of city life, away from the constant onslaught of a consumer-society, but few of us are willing to take that courageous leap into the realm of rural living with simple back-to-our-roots homesteading.

It doesnt have to cost a lot nor does it demand a lot of experience or knowledge, to get back to our grass-roots, and the Nearings proved that back in 1932, when 28 year old Helen and 45 year old (married) Scott Nearing, a radical economics teacher, left the city for a more socialist way of life.

Perhaps every era has its enemies, its scapegoats, and for the 30s, it began with the commies and anyone labeled as a radical thinker could be blacklisted and banned from university campuses, which is what happened to Scott Hearing, whos adventure into the unknown world of homesteading began with a simple need, and flourished into a movement that has inspired so many of us into actually taking action.

Anyone interested in Living the Good Life, and making sure that it continues on into old peacefully and naturally, will find the Nearings journey noteworthy, beginning with this book and closing it with Scotts death in Loving and Leaving the Good Life by his wife Helen.

This 432-page paperback, written by Helen and Scott Nearing, published by Schocken in January of 1990, measures 9.6 x 5.2 x 1 and ships at 10.4 ounces.

If you are looking for a book that shows what happens when we choose to abandon the city for rural life on little experience, little money and little knowledge, these pioneers of the 60s and 70s homesteading movement, the Nearings, put everything they learned into one single classic volume; Living the Good Life, and Continuing the Good Life for future generations of self-reliance.

Websites:
The Good Life Center – Their mission is to “perpetuate the philosophies and lifeways promoted and exemplified by Helen and Scott Nearing”.

Life is an enigmatic question, but everyone agrees that it should be lived to its fullest, but not at the expense of future generations, so then, can we learn to be fulfilled by giving back to nature? Are we so infantile that we would willingly exploit the world until it is gone? No!

We will grow, and we will learn of new ways to live life to the fullest, helping Mother Nature take care of all forms of life, in partnership with the Earth. 

Barbara Berst Adams gives a small to large-scale rundown on what makes for a more organic mini-farm with sustainable concepts at the core, building local solutions for a global problem.

What can be grown? How do farmers get their crops to market? What sustainable methods are best for you? The author knows lives what she writes, taking care of own homestead, in harmony with the earth, giving back.

For tasty produce, incredible yields, flowers or orchards; whatever type of sustainable production you are looking for, with small acreage or even just the backyard, this book contains hundreds of real-life examples.

This 176-page paperback, written by Barbara Berst Adams, published by New World in May of 2005, measuring 8.8 x 6 x 0.5 and ships at 9.9 ounces.

Micro Eco-Farming: Prospering from Backyard to Small Acreage in Partnership with the Earth is an ecologically correct manual for those with a small plot of land, looking for sustainable solutions that make sense.

Related:
Center for Micro Eco-Farming Movement – Articles by Barbara Berst Adams & Kipp Davis

While many sustainable books just mention straw bale, it is sometimes enough to spark the human imagination into the far more elaborate, artistic opportunities that this distinct building form has to offer.

Children playing in the barn always get the idea of building forts, staircases and so on, but people like the authors, have taken this one step beyond childhood and into the realm of earth-friendly construction, with not only the knowledge, but also the experience from actually going out there and doing-it-themselves.

From thermodynamic efficiency, low labor costs, low material costs, to being environmentally friendly with highly renewable building materials, straw bale is making a comeback in todays world of self-reliance.

Dealing with insurers, building codes, diagrams and simple instructions for both the experienced and novice builders alike, with insightful knowledge into this comprehensive and intellectually delightful art.

This 336-page paperback, was written by Athena Swentzell Steen, Bill Steen and David Bainbridge, first published by Chelsea Green in Dec. of 94 and measuring 9.8 x 8 x 0.9, ships at 1.8 pounds.

For a relaxing and more comfortable home that is also pleasing to the eye, cheap, made from renewable materials, for a more self-reliant and sustainable world, The Straw Bale House written by the founders of the Canelo Project, is a book that makes sense for those looking to build a better tomorrow.

Challenging traditional thinking about what really is sustainable development and good economical growth, this book clashes with economic orthodoxy and new wave trends, focusing on how many people seem to get the wrong idea about catch phraseslike sustainable growth.

Author Herman E. Daly is a visionary professor at the University of Marylands School of Public Affairs and coauthor of For the Common Good, taking the subject of economics into focus as a way to better understand the planet we live on.

For people looking to delve into discussions about an ethical economy, sustainability, the environment and really in search of down to earth solutions, this book collects points of view that really work to make the future brighter.

This 264-page paperback by Beacon Press first released in august of 1997, measuring 9 x 6 x 0.7 and shipping at only 0.6 ounces.

International finance, environmentalism, catchwords that sell in unethical ways using trendysounds like sustainable, The Economics of Sustainable Development challenges orthodox thinking to provide necessary solutions through morals, community and a return to Mother Earth.

This is a starting point for those involved in the building industry and looking for a more responsible method of building. This is the practical how-to knowledge that makes sense to professionals.

Asking how you can affect your own work through understanding the philosophy of sustainable design is the key to what gives this book all its power, laying the ethical questions and groundwork for a more down to earth technical study later on.

Written by the President of Ecotone Publishing, author Jason F. McLennans 325-page hardcover was published in June of 2004, in both color and black and white photos, measuring 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.2 and shiping at a total of 1.4lbs.

As a founding member of Ecotone Publishing and CEO of Cascadia Green Building Council in Seattle, author Jason F. McLennan is a national leader in the movement for a greener architecture, a leading thinker of sustainability, providing information for the building industry and designing community in search of a path for a more sustainable future.

With abundant experience in the area of sustainable design, the author of The Philosophy of Sustainable Design Jason F. Mclennantaps into dozens of historical works by pioneers and green design philosophers to help you ultimately become the real future of architecture and design; beginning with a detailed code of what should and what should not be sustainable design.

Since 1992, living in a more comfortable way of life that is at ease with Nature and the environment, harvesting the best of civilization to promote both self-reliance and quality of life has become an incredibly fast-growing trend the world over; this book takes us through a detailed and colorful exploration of 25 of these pipe-dreams come true.

This isnt just a do-it-yourself hippie dream from the 70s anymore, this is quickly becoming the major world tendency in some of the most remote areas of the world, to some of the oldest, even the most common construction worker is able to carry on conversations about sustainable living, while more and more people are finally getting the idea!

The building industry is learning that this stuff can work and that this stuff has worked before, but it for the age of burning electrons, this requires intelligent technology, innovative construction, environmental approaches to energy supply, ecological building materials and a more sustainable architecture that adapts itself to individual taste in a more complete way.

With the development of a growing sensitivity to quality of life, the techniques and innovation become evermore diverse and exotic in all the green-living areas, but especially that of residential housing; the focus of this colorful book.

This 159-page hardcover was written by Dominique Gauzin-Müller, first published by Birkh^TM user Basel in June of 2006, with 25 examples of sustainable homes, 352 illustrations (221 in color), measuring 11.2 x 9.6 x 0.6 and shipping at 2.2 lbs.

Sustainable Living shows rather than tells, and shows in details, part by part, all the major styles and techniques in use today by the trendy for a home that does good by Mother Earth, while maximizing all the creature comforts in a way that is specifically adapted to each owners personality with 25 international examples.

Are Americans too fat? Do we work too hard? Are we too dependent on fashion and what the media decides should be an outfit for next summer? What about our cars? Our homes? Every single inch of our lifestyle is about consumption with repercussions on a global scale, and we consume more than any other civilization ever has on earth. Are we the Roman Empire, on the verge of collapse?

We take so much from the earth through our current practices, and have done so for almost five generations now, it is finally coming into the spotlight; our practices are unsustainable and in the long-run, will no longer be possible, the time to better ourselves has finally come America! The trend today, is Sustainability!

Juliet Schor and Besty Taylor show us sixteen different ways to make our lives better through more sustainable practices! Lower your carbon footprintslook like an athletic movie star, wear outfits that look like something from Brad Pitt in Fight Club or Julia Roberts in Oceans Eleven. We can do it, and we can do it from within our own nation; America!

This book can be summed up as a guide as: Words of wisdom that reflect quality of life, for the twenty-first century.

This is a road map for such things as the political willpower to change, how you can create a real sense of community where you live, five economic recommendations for a more sustainable economy, how to create a fashion industry that is socially just as well as aesthetically pleasing, how to rethink industrial design and engineering to be without waste, how to create local food systems that provide better tasting and fresher foods or protecting local family farms.

This 304-page paperback written by Juliet Schor and Besty Taylor of CNAD, published by Beacon Press in January of 2003, measuring 8.7 x 5.9 x 0.7and shipping at 13.6 ounces indicates what we need to be doing as a nation to lead the world into sustainability, each and every one of us, right at home and in our own lives.

SustainablePlanet: Solutions for the Twenty-First Century is about how we can better the quality of life for our America today; preparing for a more self-reliant and self-sufficient tomorrow.

Green Circles is a 176 page paperback first published by Booklocker.com in May of 2007, measures 21.6 x 14x 1 cm, only weighs 232 grams and is a sound beginners manual on the elements of real green living.

This book fulfills an empty slot on the market today, carefully examining every phase of human life from birth until death, even going so far as to include natural births, green burials and all the in-between.

What does it really take to be the green-generation of the future? The sustainable-generation? These are the cues that Chuck Hall gets the chance to reflect upon inside this book, the kind of thing, everyone interested in sustainable living needs to know for a more productive future.

Green Circles: A Sustainable Journey from the Cradle to the Grave, by Chuck Hall, metaphorically illustrates what it could mean to future generations if we begin to rely now on the children of today, through teaching and learning for a better, brighter, tomorrow

More:
About Chuck Hall – From Cultureartist.org