Ecohouse

Description

Now in its 3rd edition, the bestselling Ecohouse continues to be both a technical guide and an inspiration for thousands of architects, designers and eco-builders all over the world. As the need to slow climate change becomes increasingly urgent, growing numbers of people are looking to dramatically reduce the carbon footprint of their buildings by using more ecologically sound techniques. Ecohouse provides design information about the latest low-impact materials and technologies, showcasing the newest and 'best green' solutions with international case studies demonstrating sustainable design in action around the world. This edition has been expanded to include advice on powering Ecohouses using renewable energy - including wind, micro hydro and heat pumps - and an introduction to low impact building materials such as lime, earth and hemp. New case studies from across the globe have been added to inspire readers with real life examples of how to make an Ecohouse work. Just reading this book won't save the world from the impact of climate change - but if everyone from governments down to householders followed its advice we might just begin to turn the tide.

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About the Author

Sue Roaf

Sue Roaf is Professor of Architectural Engineering at Heriot Watt University and Visiting Professor at the Open University. She publishes widely on traditional; technologies, sustainable buildings, ecohouse design and adapting buildings and cities for climate change. She designed and lives in the Oxford Ecohouse, the first UK building with a photovoltaic roof and does much to promote resilient low impact buildings through the conferences she organises on Solar Cities, Carbon Counting, Architectural Education, Thermal Comfort and Post Occupancy Evaluation. She is currently co-chairing the Westminster and Scottish Carbon Accounting Groups with Colin Challen MP and Sarah Boyak MSP.

Featured Reviews

Reviewed by Julie Bowyer, Editorial Assistant for Grand Designs magazine

Sue Roaf et al were spurred on to write this latest edition of Ecohouse to warn us for a third time of the perils of unsustainable building given the looming threat of climate change. Recent natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, and the European heat-wave, they say, are evidential that we are unprepared for such widespread devastation, and we, as individuals, need to take measures into our own hands by making our homes as windproof, waterproof and power-saving as possible. Yet far from taking the moral high ground, as many eco rants do, this book lays out a simplified approach to each stage of building an ecohouse, and what’s more, a mentality that is likely to stick. The conversational language is easy to relate to and the extensive checklists suggest invaluable things to consider for stages of your build, such as site selection to benefit from the most natural resources, and how to choose a cladding with longevity. As such a broad overview of the subject, complete with analogies, tables, sketches and photographs, you have to flick textbook-like to the info you need. But the main message is more resonant than ever: If we continue to build disposable homes that collapse domino-style at the first sign of a natural disaster, we are not only leeching the last of the planet’s resources, we are giving ourselves the least chance of survival.

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