RIBA Bookshops

Martin Brown

Martin Brown is a strategic sustainability and business improvement consultant based in Lancashire, and as UK Living Building Challenge Ambassador is an acknowledged expert and advocate of sustainability innovation.

Designing Buildings

The book serves as a challenge to the limited orthodoxies of contemporary thinking rather than attempting to provide a prescriptive road-map to definite answers.

Students, practitioners and policy makers in the built environment would do well to engage with the challenges and ideas raised by this book, as it is this kind of creative and forward thinking response that will be essential in adapting the built environment to prevent and respond to the uncertainties of climate change.

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Su Butcher, Just Practising Ltd

This book should be read by policy makers in the built environment, not just by construction professionals and students of sustainability. Whilst it provides an engaging introduction to the topic, its challenge is ultimately to those who are shaping the policy environment of the future. FutuREstorative sets out a new way of considering sustainability and argues that change will not come until we stop thinking of it as purely a box-ticking exercise, instead that sustainability must by its nature be a consideration in all we do, else we will never put back what we are taking out.

By bringing together the perspectives of people from across construction and beyond, Martin Brown provides a compelling argument for restorative sustainability, drawing in existing construction themes like collaborative working and biomimicry and introducing new ones such as PostModern Methods of Construction. The book is packed full of information, ideas and challenges; the digital chapter is in itself a challenge to us all to change the way we work.

Simon Owen, Chairman, CIBSE Yorkshire

Martin has created many things with this book; a straight talking call to action of the need to focus on genuine sustainability when considering buildings, the business case for doing just that and how the benefits will be felt far beyond the budget for the build and also a vision of how the construction industry could work today with greater efficiency, profitability and better results for itself, it’s clients and the environment as a whole of which everyone will benefit. Whichever way you consider it, this book is an important read for anyone interested in the environment, buildings or how a change in thinking would enable the move beyond merely giving people what they want, to what they need.

Dr Daniella Abreu

Date Reviewed: November 2017

The books covers basically everything on sustainable construction, energy efficiency, life cycle, materials, BIM, legislation, assessment systems. It also features great case studies. For beginners to experts, there is valuable content to everyone in the construction sector. It is practical, to the point and useful. I do recommend!

Paola Moschini, Macro Design Studio, Rovereto , Italy

Date Reviewed: August 2017

Great book, thanks to Martin Brown for having made a text where every word, phrase and concept make us reflect on our approach to sustainability and why it is important today to be Restorative and not just green!