The Barefoot Architect


Book Description

A former UN worker and prominent architect, Johan van Lengen has seen firsthand the desperate need for a "greener" approach to housing in impoverished tropical climates. This comprehensive book clearly explains every aspect of this endeavor, includingdesign (siting, orientation, climate consideration), materials (sisal, cactus, bamboo, earth), and implementation. The author emphasizes throughout the book what is inexpensive and sustainable. Included are sections discussing urban planning, small-scale energy production, cleaning and storing drinking water, and dealing with septic waste, and all information is applied to three distinct tropical regions: humid areas, temporate areas, and desert climates. Hundreds of explanatory drawings by van Lengen allow even novice builders to get started."







Floor Plan Manual Housing


Book Description

Revised edition of the reference work The Floor Plan Manual Housing has for decades been a seminal work in the field of architecture. In its 5th, revised and expanded edition, approximately 160 international housing projects built after 1945 are documented and analyzed. The focus is on exemplary and transferrable projects, and on innovative and trendsetting concepts. The systematic representation of all projects allows the reader to compare and evaluate various floor plans – and to be inspired by the wealth of ideas and strategies for one’s own design work. The introductory theoretical and historical essays have been newly written or updated, and offer a structured overview of the residential housing typology and its development. Fifth revised edition with new projects and contributions With upgraded visual appearance and a new key color Access to the content is facilitated by various index functions