Product Description

Meeting the Challenge of Sustainable Design

"Daniel Williams's Sustainable Design is . . . a thoroughly practical call for the design professions to take the next steps toward transformation of the human prospect toward a future that is sustainable and sustaining of the best in human life lived in partnership not domination."
--From the Foreword by David W. Orr, the Paul Sears Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and Politics and Chair of the Environmental Studies Program at Oberlin College

"In this pioneering book, Daniel Williams provides the sort of intelligent, thoughtful, experienced insights that--if followed--will ensure that we make the right choices. It should be on the desk of every architect in the world."
--Denis Hayes, president and CEO of the Bullitt Foundation and coordinator of the first Earth Day in 1970

Architects identify "sustainability" as the most important change in the future of their profession. Sustainable Design: Ecology, Architecture, and Planning is a practical, comprehensive guide to design and plan a built environment compatible with the region's economic, social, and ecological patterns.

In this book, Daniel Williams challenges professionals to rethink architecture and to see their projects not as objects but as critical, connected pieces of the whole, essential to human health as well as to regional economy and ecology. Comprehensive in scope, Sustainable Design answers key questions such as:
*

How do I begin thinking and designing ecologically?
*

What is the difference between "green design" and "sustainable design"?
*

What are some examples of effective change I can make that will have the most impact for the least cost?

Written for architects, planners, landscape architects, engineers, public officials, and change agent professionals, this important resource defines the issues of sustainable design, illustrates conceptual and case studies, and provides support for continued learning in this increasingly central focus of architects' and urban planners' work.

Williams's book features winning projects from the first decade of the AIA's Committee on the Environment (COTE) Top Ten award program.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #108863 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 304 pages

Review
"Williams, a noted architect and planner, looks at the applicability of sustainable design at all scales - from the region to the community to the building. The major outcome of this book is a well-reasoned argument for a drastic renovation of the way design is taught, considered and performed." (Planetizen.com; 1/29/08)

"…the intended reader is likely an architect, new to sustainability…in that respect, Williams serves them well with an authoritative introduction to key issues and terms, most notably a persuasive argument defining sustainable versus green design." (Architectural Record; 10/2007)

From the Back Cover
Meeting the Challenge of Sustainable Design

"Daniel Williams's Sustainable Design is . . . a thoroughly practical call for the design professions to take the next steps toward transformation of the human prospect toward a future that is sustainable and sustaining of the best in human life lived in partnership not domination."
—From the Foreword by David W. Orr, the Paul Sears Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and Politics and Chair of the Environmental Studies Program at Oberlin College

"In this pioneering book, Daniel Williams provides the sort of intelligent, thoughtful, experienced insights that—if followed—will ensure that we make the right choices. It should be on the desk of every architect in the world."
—Denis Hayes, president and CEO of the Bullitt Foundation and coordinator of the first Earth Day in 1970

Architects identify "sustainability" as the most important change in the future of their profession. Sustainable Design: Ecology, Architecture, and Planning is a practical, comprehensive guide to design and plan a built environment compatible with the region's economic, social, and ecological patterns.

In this book, Daniel Williams challenges professionals to rethink architecture and to see their projects not as objects but as critical, connected pieces of the whole, essential to human health as well as to regional economy and ecology. Comprehensive in scope, Sustainable Design answers key questions such as:

• How do I begin thinking and designing ecologically?

• What is the difference between "green design" and "sustainable design"?

• What are some examples of effective change I can make that will have the most impact for the least cost?

Written for architects, planners, landscape architects, engineers, public officials, and change agent professionals, this important resource defines the issues of sustainable design, illustrates conceptual and case studies, and provides support for continued learning in this increasingly central focus of architects' and urban planners' work.

Williams's book features winning projects from the first decade of the AIA's Committee on the Environment (COTE) Top Ten award program.

About the Author
Daniel E. Williams, FAIA, a Seattle-based architect and urban planner, is a nationally recognized expert in sustainable architecture and planning. Williams was the 2003 chair of the AIA's Committee on the Environment (COTE), and he chaired the AIA Sustainable Task Group in 2006. His projects, which range from residences to regional plans, connect ecology, economic development, transportation, agriculture, education, and natural resource protection.

Customer Reviews

Planetizen - Williams' Top Ten Book for Urban Design
Planetizen, a web resource for urban planners, publishes an annual list of the top 10 books for urban planners - Williams' Sustainable Design: Ecology, Architecture and Planning was listed as #5.

A must read for architects, planners and students of sustainable design
A powerful call for an ecological approach to sustainable design that guides us through the philosophic foundation to sustainable design - not "green wash". The discussion on the need for large scale actions and particularly watershed protection is quite powerful.