Green facades, environmental materials and modern architecture as viewed through windows: three fascinating books packed with valuable information
Materials: An Environmental Primer
Hattie Hartman and Joe Jack Williams eds. RIBA Publishing
298pp HB £45
It’s amazing the equivalence things can have when you register them directly, one against the other. This book proves a compelling insight into construction materials’ nature, pros and cons.
For 17 materials, key facts and relevant statistics are followed by applications, sustainability impacts, trends, innovations, exemplar projects and key takeaways. With each chapter written by respective experts in the material field and even with a section dedicated to how to read an EPD, the book is a fascinating and practical read.
Great Windows in Modern Architecture
Kevin Adams. Routledge. 217pp PB £32
Architect and teacher Adams has had the great idea of looking at 20th century architecture purely through the prism of windows. This taxonomy might initially seem isolated and limiting, but far from it; his 18 case studies by modernist greats hangs together beautifully, enriched by Adams’ drawings of the windows, some rendered almost in abstraction.
Having surveyed them so intently, his associated writings on each have depth, rigour and insight born of observation. Well illustrated with photographs too, the book is a good frame in which to re-evaluate some architectural classics.
Green Facades
Nicole Pfoser. Detail Practice. 120pp HB £45
Our Saxon friends are far ahead here, able to draw from a strong pool of research and built examples.
An introduction covers the history and legislative framework, while ‘Knowledge’ discusses urban greening, SUDS strategies and climate change mitigation. ‘Planning’, the meat to this sandwich, covers technical requirements and construction criteria, driven by great diagrams. ‘Action’ offers built examples – all in Germany or Austria.
My personal fave is the wonderful ‘Planting Table’ diagrams, showing plant type suitability for green walls according to height and orientation. Clematis at low level in the shade – cool!