City Building


Book Description

Over the past decade, planning books have focused on critiquing & remedying the suburban situation; but as cities revitalize & expand (or suffer and decay), it's important to rethink their direction.




Landscape Ecology Principles in Landscape Architecture and Land-Use Planning


Book Description

Landscape ecology - the ecology of large heterogeneous areas, landscapes, regions, or simply of land mosaics, has rapidly emerged in the past decade as an important and useful tool for land-use planners and landscape architects. Landscape Ecology Principles in Landscape Architecture and Land-Use Planning is an essential handbook that presents and explains principles of landscape ecology and provides numerous examples of how those principles can be applied in specific situations.




Design and Order


Book Description

Teaches the principles behind the successful planning and creation of inspired built forms and urban places This book offers an integrated understanding of both the principles and the perception of the design of built environments and public spaces. It outlines the fundamental characteristics that are evident in the creation of built form and illustrates how they determine the experience of resultant places. It also consolidates the key criteria that need to be taken into consideration in the development of these areas. All of the above-mentioned aims to provide designers with a solid understanding of the implications of their decisions on perception and behavior during the creation of new spaces. Design and Order: Perceptual experience of built form - Principles in the Planning and Making of Place starts by examining the designing of natural environments and the affect that they have on humans. It teaches readers how people experience and are shaped by a space—via their eyes, brain, and overall perception. It then instructs on proper grammar of form and syntax so that designers can understand how to pursue design processes systematically. The book then takes readers through this process of designing, informing them on the principles of form, function, configuration, communication, organization, color and contrasts, building structures, good practice and more. Seeks to improve the methodological approach to the planning and design of buildings Broadly address all of the functions that impact the realization of new built and urban form Outlines the fundamental characteristics that are evident in the design of built forms and illustrates how these characteristics determine the experience of the resultant places Comprehensively covers the ideas, principles, and the perception of design Teaches designers to make informed decisions about applying or discarding principles when creating spaces. Design and Order is a unique book that will appeal to students and professionals in architecture, urban design and planning, as well as designers and developers.




Building Construction


Book Description

The science of building construction and design is evolving more quickly than ever before. The second edition of this outstanding text builds on the previous version. It incorporates the latest updates available, features hundreds of new pieces of artwork, and is now in FULL COLOR! Written by an author team with decades of experience in architecture, building construction, engineering, and teaching, Building Construction: Principles, Materials & Systems 2nd Edition is a comprehensive and fully illustrated introduction to construction methods and materials. Continuing on with the books unique organization, Principles of Construction are covered in Part One and Materials and Systems of Construction are covered in Part Two. Emphasizing a visual approach to learning, it includes more than 1,400 original illustrations and an extra large trim size (9" x 12") that provides an open and inviting layout that readers are sure to appreciate. Plus! A completely revamped and expanded companion website, "MyConstructionKit", is also available!







Principles of Building Commissioning


Book Description

Commissioning is coming of age. Savvy building owners have adopted commissioning as an effective way to improve the facility acquisition process. Green building initiatives have embraced commissioning as a way of assuring quality in the delivery of high-performance buildings. This long-established quality control process for building mechanical systems is emerging as a broader construction management tool improving nearly all aspects of a project. What exactly is this thing called commissioning? Principles of Building Commissioning answers this fundamental question with the first all-inclusive, practical guide to the application of the principles of commissioning. The book clarifies the underlying philosophy of commissioning: the why, what, when, and who of this process. Shaped by the ASHRAE Guideline 0 view of the world of commissioning, Building Commissioning: Maps out the territory of commissioning Outlines its defining characteristics Explains its flow of processes Demystifies its documentation Making the fundamentals of commissioning accessible to all parties—building owners and operators, architects and engineers, users and suppliers—who may be called upon to join the commissioning team for a particular project, Building Commissioning serves as the professional's road map to the commissioning process, from the predesign phase through occupancy.




Applying Principles from IT Architecture to Strategic Business Planning


Book Description

Through the application of information architecture principles, the development of a comprehensible strategic planning process and a useable planning document together will provide an effective solution to any business’s strategic planning problems. Applying Principles from IT Architecture to Strategic Business Planning describes the principles of IT architecture to develop the creation of an information model of business strategic requirements. Highlighting the importance of organizational goals within a business, this book is an essential read for employees on a managerial and executive level who are involved in the organizational development of a company.




The Power of Existing Buildings


Book Description

Your building has the potential to change the world. Existing buildings consume approximately 40 percent of the energy and emit nearly half of the carbon dioxide in the US each year. In recognition of the significant contribution of buildings to climate change, the idea of building green has become increasingly popular. But is it enough? If an energy-efficient building is new construction, it may take 10 to 80 years to overcome the climate change impacts of the building process. New buildings are sexy, but few realize the value in existing buildings and how easy it is to get to “zero energy” or low-energy consumption through deep energy retrofits. Existing buildings can and should be retrofit to reduce environmental impacts that contribute to climate change, while improving human health and productivity for building occupants. In The Power of Existing Buildings, academic sustainability expert Robert Sroufe, and construction and building experts Craig Stevenson and Beth Eckenrode, explain how to realize the potential of existing buildings and make them perform like new. This step-by-step guide will help readers to: understand where to start a project; develop financial models and realize costs savings; assemble an expert team; and align goals with numerous sustainability programs. The Power of Existing Buildings will challenge you to rethink spaces where people work and play, while determining how existing buildings can save the world. The insights and practical experience of Sroufe, Stevenson, and Eckenrode, along with the project case study examples, provide new insights on investing in existing buildings for building owners, engineers, occupants, architects, and real estate and construction professionals. The Power of Existing Buildings helps decision-makers move beyond incremental changes to holistic, results-oriented solutions.




Soft City


Book Description

Imagine waking up to the gentle noises of the city, and moving through your day with complete confidence that you will get where you need to go quickly and efficiently. Soft City is about ease and comfort, where density has a human dimension, adapting to our ever-changing needs, nurturing relationships, and accommodating the pleasures of everyday life. How do we move from the current reality in most cites—separated uses and lengthy commutes in single-occupancy vehicles that drain human, environmental, and community resources—to support a soft city approach? In Soft City David Sim, partner and creative director at Gehl, shows how this is possible, presenting ideas and graphic examples from around the globe. He draws from his vast design experience to make a case for a dense and diverse built environment at a human scale, which he presents through a series of observations of older and newer places, and a range of simple built phenomena, some traditional and some totally new inventions. Sim shows that increasing density is not enough. The soft city must consider the organization and layout of the built environment for more fluid movement and comfort, a diversity of building types, and thoughtful design to ensure a sustainable urban environment and society. Soft City begins with the big ideas of happiness and quality of life, and then shows how they are tied to the way we live. The heart of the book is highly visual and shows the building blocks for neighborhoods: building types and their organization and orientation; how we can get along as we get around a city; and living with the weather. As every citizen deals with the reality of a changing climate, Soft City explores how the built environment can adapt and respond. Soft City offers inspiration, ideas, and guidance for anyone interested in city building. Sim shows how to make any city more efficient, more livable, and better connected to the environment.