Sustainable design requires that design practitioners respond to a particular set of social; cultural and environmental conditions. Vernacular Architecture and Regional Design defines a set of strategies for understanding the complexities of a regional setting. Through a series of international case studies; it examines how architects and designers have applied a variety of tactics to achieve culturally and environmentally appropriate design solutions. bull; Shows that architecture and design are inextricably linked to social and environmental processes; and are not just technical or aesthetic exercises.bull; Articulates a variety of methods to realise goals of socially responsible and environmentally responsive design.bull; Calls for a principled approach to design in an effort to preserve fragile environments and forge sustainable best practice. Vernacular Architecture and Regional Design will appeal to educators and professional practitioners in the fields of architecture; heritage conservation and urban design. Dr. Kingston Wm. Heath is Professor and Director of the Historic Preservation Program at the University of Oregon. Previously he was Professor of Architecture at the University of North Carolina; Charlotte where he taught seminars on vernacular architecture and regional design theory. He holds graduate degrees from the University of Chicago and Brown University. In addition to numerous articles in scholarly journals; he is the author of Patina of Place; and winner of the Abbott Lowell Cummings Award from The Vernacular Architecture Forum for excellence in a scholarly work. He has earned an international reputation in the field of vernacular architecture and has directed field schools in Italy and Croatia.
#1434546 in eBooks 2009-10-30 2009-10-30File Name: B002WTBRPY
Review
29 of 30 people found the following review helpful. Nothing "complete" about itBy William SampsonThis book is billed as a "complete guide" when what it really does is present only a thin sketch of the subject matter with very little insight or professional expertise involved. It reads like a high school term paper in which the student spent a few hours madly pulling stuff off of the internet without really doing any serious research. And dont buy this if you what you want is a guide for you to do alternative home building yourself. Every third paragraph ends with an admonishment to leave the job to a professional -- this despite several recipes for do-it-yourself building materials. And the organization of the book makes what little valuable information it has almost inaccessible. For example. although cordwood construction is specifically mentioned on the cover and takes up a number of pages and pictures inside. you wont find it on the table of contents or in the index. You will find it buried in an overlong and overbroad chapter that purports to be an overview of the building process. Supposed "case histories" interspersed throughout the book are frequently little more than thinly veiled ads for the subjects professional services or political agenda. Youd do better spending a few hours cruising the internet for better information than wasting money on this book. Besides. your internet search is likely to be more thorough and illuminating than anything this author came up with.5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. an introduction to alternative home buildingBy supersailorkeThis book claims to be a complete guide to alternative home building materials and construction methods.Unfortunately this is far from that. For people being completely new to the subject it is a great introduction. but it fails to give more information than any free website already gives. On the contrary. it gives considerably less and has only few photos).If I would have seen this book in a shop I would not have bought it.An introduction to alternative home building and materials would have been a more honest title.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy yuri skorupskyTHANK YOU
