The Green House: New Directions for Sustainable ArchitectureBy Alanna Stang & Christopher Hawthorne

The Green House: New Directions for Sustainable Architecture
By Alanna Stang & Christopher Hawthorne

Go Green. If you want a coffee table book that comes as close to eco-sustainabile shelter porn as we've seen, then The Green House is for you. Written by Stang (ID Mag) and Hawthorne (LA Times) and put out by the Princeton Architectural Press, this is a beautiful book that shows off and gives you detailed info on 29 eco houses from NYC to Australia to Japan.

What is immediately noticeable here is that these houses are stunning. They show the ability to integrate sustainable principles without sacrificing style. One jacket quote says, "...all the misconceptions about green design are dispelled in one fell swoop."

It's true. These houses are indeed "a far cry from the clunky, mud-caked constructions of the 60's and 70's." But they ain't cheap either....

The Green House is due out later this summer and Stang and Hawthorne will be speaking about their book and "Green Architecture and Design" at AIA's The Center on June 28th.

Available through Princeton Architectural Press ($45). MGR

Of special note:

P.A.R.A.S.I.T.E Project: Housing attachments in the Netherlands (see pic below).
156 Reade Street by Studio Petrarca: Employs a geothermal pump that uses 75% less energy than conventional systems.
Naked House by Shigeru Ban: Totally transluscent shell filled with light.
Tuscon Mountain House by Rick Joy: Rammed earth walls look like sedimentary formations.
Charlotte Residence by Allison Ewing & Bill McDonough: One side has MdDonough's signature ugliness, but the interior and reverse are remarkable.

Comments (1)

This book is companion to a new exhibition of the same name opening at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC from May 20, 2006 through June 3, 2007.

posted by Melinda on 2006-05-12 15:38:43