Ecominimalism

Book excerpt: In this age of eco-bling where sustainability becomes yet another ill-defined buzz word and people rush to fix their unsuspecting buildings, with green technology badges such as wind turbines, not all such additions are as green as they first appear. This book highlights more realistic and cost effective approaches to going 'green' by showcasing 'eco-minimalism' - a good-housekeeping approach to ecological building design and specification, concentrating on less glaringly obvious strategies such as insulation, draught-proofing and the use of healthy materials. This book exposes the pitfalls of 'greenwashing' in an immediate, visually-arresting and authoritative way. The intention is to present basic tenets in a quickfire, highly accessible format not just for architects, other construction professionals and related students but everyone who cares about the sustainability of our built environment.