The French auteur Robert Bresson; director of such classics as Diary of a Country Priest (1951); The Trial of Joan of Arc (1962); The Devil; Probably (1977); and Lrsquo;Argent (1983); has long been thought of as a transcendental filmmaker preoccupied with questions of grace and predestination and little interested in the problems of the social world. This book is the first to view Bressonrsquo;s work in an altogether different context. Rather than a religiousmdash;or spiritualmdash;filmmaker; Bresson is revealed as an artist steeped in radical; revolutionary politics.
#2046711 in eBooks 2011-07-05 2011-07-05File Name: B004ULOSDU
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. an all encompassing bookBy Rachel WestThis book covers all topics related to "going green" when it comes to architecture and the way society has been built. Discusses pros and cons of all green options and looks at the infrastructure of our cities. Very fascinating worthwhile read.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Smart book!By J. WilliamsGreat for those looking to build future green homes. Very insightful to understanding our effects on nature and how to live sustainably. Written in essy-to-understand language.7 of 7 people found the following review helpful. Hard-hitting stance on current sustainability effortsBy Joshua P. OConnerSpeaking candidly. theres really no shortage of ideas floating around regarding how we can change our attitudes toward building design in such a manner that allows us align with the context and capacity of the natural environment. Theres the LEED standard. the focus on eliminating sprawl espoused by the Congress for New Urbanism. youve got Low Impact Development. and even the government is on board with the EnergyStar construction standard. None of this is good enough for Neil Chambers. Ive read my fair share of books on sustainable architecture. design. and urban settlement. but honestly Chambers Urban Green: Architecture for the Future sets itself apart by driving a harder line for sustainability-focused human settlement. Its not enough that we reduce energy use or conserve water... according to Chambers we need to take a step back and have a more realistic conversation about how our infrastructure is capable of performing and what our end game is.Urban Green is a short-read. Its interesting. its fast-paced. and it covers a variety of captivating topics (almost to a fault). However. I finished the book and walked away sort of pissed off. Its been two weeks since Ive read it. and its taken me this long to digest the material thats there. Sure. Id like to believe that super efficient electrical grids and cars we can plug in at the local McDonalds are going to ensure the quality of life and prosperity that I desire for my kids. but I shouldnt lie to myself. Thats exactly what got me so pissed off about Urban Green... its a reality check... its essentially 244 pages of Neil Chambers pointing out that in many ways were greenwashing ourselves toward disaster. Harsh.Chambers main point (or at least my synthesis of it). centers around the idea that design and architecture should be contextual. Installing a sustainable office park in the middle of a desert doesnt mean slapping in some low-flow water fixtures and plopping some solar panels on the roof. In fact. it might mean not placing the office park in an area where its very installation is going to exceed the carrying capacity of the local ecosystem. Sure the low-flow fixtures are great. but they dont totally mitigate the volumes of water we are sucking out of water tables that arent regenerating fast enough. They certainly dont account for all the externalities of the infrastructure necessary to move the water to the site from more water-abundant regions.Chambers goes on to murder the latest bastion of Americanized-sustainability by pointing out that electric cars arent really sustainable when the energy source theyre using hosts more environmental problems than the energy source theyre meant to replace.Urban Green presents a fresh (albeit disturbing) look at the way we think about the built environment. It stings a little bit. but Chambers plays the role of Drill Sergeant in driving home the point that our efforts arent enough. We have pay even greater detail to the ecological context of the areas that we are working within and ensure that we are planning in a way that supports not only our own perpetuity. but our fellow species. As Chambers would say. we have to start acting like a keystone species (meaning that we have to take into account our profound ability to alter the existence of our biological companions).Pick it up. Read it. Get pissed off about hearing the cold. hard truth. Then go do something about it.
