Architecture in a Climate of Change

Focusing on the recently introduced compulsory course element on sustainability in architecture, the book outlines all of the arguments and provides a comprehensive source of information. The author's insider knowledge of the curriculum structure provides you with an invaluable companion to the new section of the course work. An outline seminar is included allowing the student to relate the theories of sustainability to the practice of study. The professional will also benefit from its focus on the practical translation of sustainable theory. He calls for changes in the way we build. For change to be widely accepted there have to be convincing reasons why long established practices should be replaced. In the first part of the book he sets out those reasons by arguing that there is convincing evidence that climate changes now under way are primarily due to human activity in releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Buildings are particularly implicated in this process and so it is appropriate that the design and construction process should be a prime target in the war against catastrophic climate change. The book is designed to promote a creative partnership between the professions to produce buildings which achieve optimum conditions for their inhabitants whilst making minimum demands on fossil based energy. Peter Smith has written extensively on the subject and is well known in the field. He is responsible for introducing the compulsory sustainable element of the course in the UK. He is Chairman of the RIBA Environment and Energy Committee, the RIBA Sustainable Features Committee and Vice Chairman of the Sustainable Development Committee.