Nature by Design

Nature by Design
Author: Eric Higgs
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 368
Release: 2003-04-25
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780262582261

Ecological restoration is the process of repairing human damage to ecosystems. It involves reintroducing missing plants and animals, rebuilding soils, eliminating hazardous substances, ripping up roads, and returning natural processes such as fire and flooding to places that thrive on their regular occurrence. Thousands of restoration projects take place in North America every year. In Nature by Design, Eric Higgs argues that profound philosophical and cultural shifts accompany these projects. He explores the ethical and philosophical bases of restoration and the question of what constitutes good ecological restoration. Higgs explains how and why the restoration movement came about, where it fits into the array of approaches to human relationships with the land, and how it might be used to secure a sustainable future. Some environmental philosophers and activists worry that restoration will dilute preservation and conservation efforts and lead to an even deeper technological attitude toward nature. They ask whether even well-conceived restoration projects are in fact just expressions of human will. Higgs prefaces his responses to such concerns by distinguishing among several types of ecological restoration. He also describes a growing gulf between professionals and amateurs. Higgs finds much merit in criticism about technological restoration projects, which can cause more damage than they undo. These projects often ignore the fact that changing one thing in a complex system can change the whole system. For restoration projects to be successful, Higgs argues, people at the community level must be engaged. These focal restorations bring communities together, helping volunteers develop a dedication to place and encouraging democracy.

Pretty Good House

Pretty Good House
Author: Michael Maines
Publisher: Taunton Press
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2022-05-24
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 9781641551656

Pretty Good House provides a framework and set of guidelines for building or renovating a high-performance home that focus on its inhabitants and the environment--but keeps in mind that few people have pockets deep enough to achieve a "perfect" solution. The essential idea is for homeowners to work within their financial and practical constraints both to meet their own needs and do as much for the planet as possible. A Pretty Good House is: * A house that's as small as possible * Simple and durable, but also well designed * Insulated and air-sealed * Above all, it is affordable, healthy, responsible, and resilient.

Human Dimension and Interior Space

Human Dimension and Interior Space
Author: Julius Panero
Publisher: Watson-Guptill
Total Pages: 322
Release: 2014-01-21
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 0770434606

The study of human body measurements on a comparative basis is known as anthropometrics. Its applicability to the design process is seen in the physical fit, or interface, between the human body and the various components of interior space. Human Dimension and Interior Space is the first major anthropometrically based reference book of design standards for use by all those involved with the physical planning and detailing of interiors, including interior designers, architects, furniture designers, builders, industrial designers, and students of design. The use of anthropometric data, although no substitute for good design or sound professional judgment should be viewed as one of the many tools required in the design process. This comprehensive overview of anthropometrics consists of three parts. The first part deals with the theory and application of anthropometrics and includes a special section dealing with physically disabled and elderly people. It provides the designer with the fundamentals of anthropometrics and a basic understanding of how interior design standards are established. The second part contains easy-to-read, illustrated anthropometric tables, which provide the most current data available on human body size, organized by age and percentile groupings. Also included is data relative to the range of joint motion and body sizes of children. The third part contains hundreds of dimensioned drawings, illustrating in plan and section the proper anthropometrically based relationship between user and space. The types of spaces range from residential and commercial to recreational and institutional, and all dimensions include metric conversions. In the Epilogue, the authors challenge the interior design profession, the building industry, and the furniture manufacturer to seriously explore the problem of adjustability in design. They expose the fallacy of designing to accommodate the so-called average man, who, in fact, does not exist. Using government data, including studies prepared by Dr. Howard Stoudt, Dr. Albert Damon, and Dr. Ross McFarland, formerly of the Harvard School of Public Health, and Jean Roberts of the U.S. Public Health Service, Panero and Zelnik have devised a system of interior design reference standards, easily understood through a series of charts and situation drawings. With Human Dimension and Interior Space, these standards are now accessible to all designers of interior environments.

Sustainable Building - Design Manual

Sustainable Building - Design Manual
Author:
Publisher: The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)
Total Pages: 318
Release: 2004-01-01
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 9788179930533

The second volume targets practitioners and focuses on the process of green architecture by combining concepts and technologies with best practices for each integral design component

French Women Philosophers

French Women Philosophers
Author: Christina Howells
Publisher: Psychology Press
Total Pages: 806
Release: 2004
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9780415261401

This Reader will be the first of its kind to present the work of leading French women philosophers to an English-speaking audience. Howells draws on several major areas of philosophical and theoretical debate.

Culture, Architecture and Nature

Culture, Architecture and Nature
Author: Sim Van der Ryn
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 235
Release: 2013-10-30
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 1134632967

Gathering his most compelling essays and addresses from the last fifty years in one accessible volume, this book looks at the pioneering ideas that underpin Sim Van der Ryn’s ecological design philosophy. It offers a unique decade-by-decade retrospective of the key issues in environmental design, beginning with the most recent years and looking back to the 1960s. With an introductory chapter and further recommended reading for each decade, this book is key reading for any architect or designer practising today, and students will find a wealth of knowledge with which to support their studies. The author’s beautiful illustrations, painted in a corresponding timescale to the chapters, offer further insight into the way he understands the challenges of humanity’s stewardship of our planet.

Designing Interior Architecture

Designing Interior Architecture
Author: Sylvia Leydecker
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
Total Pages: 368
Release: 2013-05-28
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 3034615809

Designing interior spaces is a task that is equally relevant as architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design for those working professionally in the built environment. In this comprehensive work, an international and interdisciplinary team of authors presents the essential aspects of the various fields of contemporary interior architecture and design. The project examples are illustrated with brilliant photographs and plans. They have been selected according to consistent criteria for all chapters of the book and represent the essential building types, including exhibition stand design, as well as a broad range of today’s design approaches. The authors place the collaboration between the various design disciplines at the center of focus. The appendix contains information for further research. All in all, Designing Interior Architecture is a fundamental reference work for all those professionally engaged with the design.

Architectural Research Addressing Societal Challenges

Architectural Research Addressing Societal Challenges
Author: Manuel Jorge Rodrigues Couceiro da Costa
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 1665
Release: 2019-08-08
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1351849573

The escalating interdependecy of nations drives global geopolitics to shift ever more quickly. Societies seem unable to control any change that affects their cities, whether positively or negatively. Challenges are global, but solutions need to be implemented locally. How can architectural research contribute to the future of our changing society? How has it contributed in the past? The theme of the 10th EAAE/ARCC International Conference, “Architectural Research Addressing Societal Challenges”, was set to address these questions. This book, Architectural Research Addressing Societal Challenges, includes reviewed papers presented in June 2016, at the 10th EAAE/ARCC International Conference, which was held at the facilities of the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Lisbon. The papers have been further divided into the following five sub-themes: a Changing Society; In Transit – Global Migration; Renaturalization of the City; Emerging Fields of Architectural Practice; and Research on Architectural Education. The EAAE/ARCC International Conference, held under the aegis of the EAAE and of the ARCC, is a conference organized every other year, in collaboration with one of the member schools/ universities of those associations, alternatively in North America or in Europe.

Construction Ecology

Construction Ecology
Author: Charles J. Kibert
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 330
Release: 2003-08-27
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 113450831X

Industrial ecology provides a sound means of systematising the various ideas which come under the banner of sustainable construction and provides a model for the design, operation and ultimate disposal of buildings.

Architectural Research Addressing Societal Challenges Volume 2

Architectural Research Addressing Societal Challenges Volume 2
Author: Manuel Jorge Rodrigues Couceiro da Costa
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 599
Release: 2017-09-19
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1351652656

The EAAE/ARCC International Conference, held under the aegis of the EAAE (European Association for Architectural Education) and of the ARCC (Architectural Research Centers Consortium), is a conference organized every other year, in collaboration with one of the member schools / universities of those associations, alternatively in North America or in Europe. The EAAE/ARCC Conferences began at the North Carolina State University College of Design, Raleigh with a conference on Research in Design Education (1998); followed by conferences in Paris (2000), Montreal (2002), Dublin (2004), Philadelphia (2006), Copenhagen (2008), Washington (2010), Milan (2012) and Honolulu (2014). The conference discussions focus on research experiences in the field of architecture and architectural education, providing a critical forum for the dissemination and engagement of current ideas from around the world.