An accessible guidebook to good design, in a step-by-step method starting from the scale of regional planning, building siting and orientation, to small construction details, maintaining organic and spiritual qualities of healthy living environments.

For beginners, a friendly introduction to Environmental Systems (and some Structures) with hand-drawn illustrations throughout.

The Graphic Standards has so much information I am still discovering stuff in it after years of practice. I bought the 7th Edition as I began school and still refer to it regularly...

For the slightly more advanced: This was written by a graduate professor of mine at Auburn University (used as a textbook for his class, and it serves as a fairly thorough systems reference). The book is both an excellent guide to designing sustainable architecture today, and provides clues about sustainable and climaticly-responsive architecture of the past.

The areas between order and disorder are illustrated and categorized in this novel look at historic and contemporary architecture, sort of like Chaos Theory for architects.

A good book describing sustainable planning attributes with examples from a chief practitioner of the New Urbanism.

I checked this out from the library (renewing it several times) as I prepared for the A.R.E. The notes I took and drawings I photocopied have become an integral part of my architect's reference material.