We’re not in the habit of recommending books in these pages, but we could not ignore two recent noteworthy publications. (Both are available on amazon.com.)
Net Zero Energy Design: A Guide for Commercial Architecture is an in-depth, 441-page exploration into the practical problems of designing and building net-zero buildings. The author, architect Tom Hootman, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, is Director of Sustainability at RNL, the Denver-based design firm.
He was a key contributor to the Building Team that designed the Research Support Facility at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the U.S. Department of Energy lab in Golden, Colo. It was the first net-zero building in the U.S. to demonstrate both environmental and economic feasibility.
If your firm is contemplating taking on a net-zero energy project, you would be remiss if you ignored this book, the first essential manual in the field.
See my interview with Hootman on how NZE buildings are creating a new role for architects, at /new-leadership-role-architects-net-zero-design.
Transformational Thought: Radical Ideas to Remake the Built Environment is a series of 14 essays by Jason F. McLennan, LEED Fellow, founder of the Living Building Challenge and a primal force in the U.S. Green Building Council’s Cascadia Green Building Council. He was named to Building Design+Construction’s “40 under 40” list in 2010 as a 32-year-old principal at BNIM.
McLellan roams far and wide in his essays, from the role of women in a “restorative future,” to the urban agriculture revolution, to a discussion challenging the wisdom of height and density in urban structures.
It is not always easy to agree with McLellan, and his provocative argumentation will keep you awake at night, thinking. +
Related Stories
| Dec 5, 2011
Fraser Brown MacKenna wins Green Gown Award
Working closely with staff at Queen Mary University of London, MEP Engineers Mott MacDonald, Cost Consultants Burnley Wilson Fish and main contractor Charter Construction, we developed a three-fold solution for the sustainable retrofit of the building.
| Dec 5, 2011
Gables Residential brings mixed-use building to Houston's Tanglewood area
The design integrates a detailed brick and masonry facade, acknowledging the soft pastel color palette of the surrounding Mediterranean heritage of Tanglewood.
| Dec 2, 2011
Legrand joins White House initiative to spur energy efficiency in commercial buildings
Company agrees to aggressive energy savings and reporting.
| Dec 1, 2011
Ground broken on first LEED Platinum designed school house built by volunteers
Phoenix public school receives the generous gift of a state-of-the-art building for student and community use.
| Dec 1, 2011
VLK Architects’ office receives LEED certification
The West 7th development, which houses the firm’s office, was designed to be LEED for Core & Shell, which gave VLK the head start on finishing out the area for LEED Silver Certification CI.
| Nov 29, 2011
First EPD awarded to exterior roof and wall products manufacturer
EPD is a standardized, internationally recognized tool for providing information on a product’s environmental impact.
| Nov 29, 2011
Suffolk Construction breaks ground on Boston residential tower
Millennium Place III is a $220 million, 256-unit development that will occupy a full city block in Boston’s Downtown Crossing.
| Nov 29, 2011
Report finds credit crunch accounts for 20% of nation’s stalled projects
Persistent financing crunch continues to plague design and construction sector.
| Nov 28, 2011
Leo A Daly and McCarthy Building complete Casino Del Sol expansion in Tucson, Ariz.
Firms partner with Pascua Yaqui Tribe to bring new $130 million Hotel, Spa & Convention Center to the Tucson, Ariz., community.
