Architecture in a Climate of Change

Focusing on the recently introduced compulsory course element on sustainability in architecture, the book outlines all of the arguments and provides a comprehensive source of information. The author's insider knowledge of the curriculum structure provides you with an invaluable companion to the new section of the course work. An outline seminar is included allowing the student to relate the theories of sustainability to the practice of study. The professional will also benefit from its focus on the practical translation of sustainable theory. He calls for changes in the way we build. For change to be widely accepted there have to be convincing reasons why long established practices should be replaced. In the first part of the book he sets out those reasons by arguing that there is convincing evidence that climate changes now under way are primarily due to human activity in releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Buildings are particularly implicated in this process and so it is appropriate that the design and construction process should be a prime target in the war against catastrophic climate change. The book is designed to promote a creative partnership between the professions to produce buildings which achieve optimum conditions for their inhabitants whilst making minimum demands on fossil based energy. Peter Smith has written extensively on the subject and is well known in the field. He is responsible for introducing the compulsory sustainable element of the course in the UK. He is Chairman of the RIBA Environment and Energy Committee, the RIBA Sustainable Features Committee and Vice Chairman of the Sustainable Development Committee.

Table of Contents:
One; Climate Change, People or Nature? Two; Predictions Three; Renewable technologies - energy from water Four; Renewable technologies - solar Five; Low energy techniques for housing Six; Insulation Seven; Domestic energy Eight; Advanced and Ultra-low energy house Nine; Housing - an unacceptable legacy Ten; Low energy techniques for non-domestic buildings Eleven; Ventilation Twelve; Energy options Thirteen; Lighting - designing for daylight Fourteen; Lighting in the context of human frailty Fifteen; Cautionary notes Sixteen; Beacon buildings Seventeen; An American perspective Eighteen; Life cycle Assessment and recycling Nineteen; Integrated district environmental design Twenty; Emergent technologies and future prospects. Annexe One: Key indicators for environmental design and Environmental checklist for development

Review :
A book that is essential reading, especially as it considers the 'why' as well as the 'what' of sustainable architecture. Lord Rogers of Riverside With ecological sustainability now on the curriculum for all the RIBA recognized courses in architecture this book could become essential reading for students. It would also be very attractive to practitioners who seek a useful, easily digestible, "handbook" to this field. Paul Hyett, RIBA President 'A book from an authority such as Peter Smith is welcome and deserves to be read for the amount of information packed into its 200 pages.' The Architectural Review 'This book is really two publications in one. It contains both a well-researched and dispassionate overview of energy and climate, combined with a thorough account of acheiving energy efficiency in buildings. It is also incredibly up to date...If budgets only extend to one book then this book is it.' Building Services Engineering Research and Technology Journal