Cool Homes in Hot Places showcases real homes from the hottest territories around the world. Featuring a wide variety of environments and styles—from wilderness to hillside, from waterside to woodside, and from cultivated to streetside—this book shows how careful decisions around layout, materials, color, and furniture can create elegant yet functional and comfortable spaces in even the world's hottest climates. By designing each home holistically and taking into consideration all of the factors that impact the site—the occupants, region, climate, terrain, culture, and resources—Cool Homes in Hot Places will show any architect, interior designer, or homeowner the key to staying cool in any warm climate.

In the search for sustainable architecture, there is growing interest in the relationship between nature and design. In this vital new book, the termbioclimatic relating to the dynamic between climate and living organisms, is applied by the authors in focusing on countries where housing requires cooling for a significant part of the year. In this context, Bioclimatic Housing covers creative, vernacular architecture to present both the theory and practice of innovative, low-energy architecture. The book interweaves the themes of social progress, technological fixes and industry transformation within a discussion of global and country trends, climate types, solutions and technologies. Prepared under the auspices of a 5-year International Energy Agency (IEA) project, and with case studies from Iran, Malaysia, Australia, Japan, Sri Lanka and Italy, this is a truly international and authoritative work, providing an essential primer for building designers, builders, developers and advanced students in architecture and engineering.

This book provides information on the latest research findings that are useful in the context of designing sustainable houses and living in rapidly growing Asian cities. The book is composed of seven parts, comprising a total of 50 chapters written by 53 authors from various countries, mainly in the Asian region. Part I introduces vernacular houses in different Asian countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Nepal, China, Thailand and Laos. Parts II and III then explore in depth indoor adaptive thermal comfort and occupants’ adaptive behavior, focusing especially on those in hot-humid climates. Part IV presents detailed survey results on household energy consumption in various tropical Asian cities, while Part V analyses the indoor thermal conditions in both traditional houses and modern houses in these countries. Several real-world sustainable housing practices in Asian cities are reviewed in the following part. The final part then discusses the vulnerability of expanding Asian cities to climate change and urban heat island. Today, approximately 35-40% of global energy is consumed in Asia, and this percentage is expected to rise further. Energy consumption has increased, particularly in the residential sector, in line with the rapid rise of the middle class. The majority of growing Asian cities are located in hot and humid climate regions, and as such there is an urgent need for designers to provide healthy and comfortable indoor environments that do not consume non-renewable energy or resources excessively. This book is essential reading for anyone with an interest in sustainable house design in the growing cities of Asia.

The lay-up of adobe bricks is an easy, forgiving way to achieve a solid masonry-wall system. Contrary to stereotypes, adobe is perfectly adaptable for use in cold, wet climates as well as hot and dry ones, and for areas prone to earthquakes. With its efficient use of energy, natural resources for construction, and minimal effort for long-term maintenance, it’s clear that the humble adobe brick is an ideal option for constructing eco-friendly structures throughout the world. The book is ideal both for first-time do-it-yourselfers and for experienced adobe builders seeking to improve their craft. Drawing on the experience of more than fifty major adobe projects since 1993, Adobe Homes for All Climates describes Adobe Building Systems’ patented reinforcement and scaffolding systems, showing readers how to construct adobe homes more easily and safely, and with superior strength, durability, structural integrity, and aesthetic appeal, as compared to earthen homes of the past. All aspects of adobe construction are covered, including making and laying adobe bricks, installing lintels and arches, conduits and pipes, doors and windows, top plates and bondbeams, ideal wall dimensions, adobe finishes, and other adobe construction components, such as the inexpensive use of scaffolding. These methods will produce a premium product that will meet and often exceed inspection standards. Equipped with this manual, you will be able to obtain a building permit, make adobe bricks swiftly, and confidently lay them up. You will be able to beautifully finish your adobe walls with earth plasters creating stunning colors and outstanding light effects and create a beautiful, energy-efficient home that will last for generations to come.

Read Along or Enhanced eBook: People in communities around the world live in homes suited to their environment and natural resources. From homes made of mud and straw to homes built on stilts, readers will discover that all homes serve the same purpose—to meet our basic need for shelter.

This New York Times bestselling book is filled with hundreds of fun, deceptively simple, budget-friendly ideas for sprucing up your home. With two home renovations under their (tool) belts and millions of hits per month on their blog YoungHouseLove.com, Sherry and John Petersik are home-improvement enthusiasts primed to pass on a slew of projects, tricks, and techniques to do-it-yourselfers of all levels. Packed with 243 tips and ideas—both classic and unexpected—and more than 400 photographs and illustrations, this is a book that readers will return to again and again for the creative projects and easy-to-follow instructions in the relatable voice the Petersiks are known for. Learn to trick out a thrift-store mirror, spice up plain old roller shades, "hack" your Ikea table to create three distinct looks, and so much more.

For builders of natural homes (straw bale, cob, adobe, rammed earth, and other natural materials), this unique step-by-step guide takes the confusion out of choosing, mixing, and applying natural plasters. From principles to practicalities, and with every stage of the process illustrated, The Natural Plasters Book details the entire process of plastering with earth, lime, and gypsum for a long-lasting and durable finish. Starting with an overview and history of the natural building movement, the book handles a wide variety of topics including earthen plaster versus cement stucco, tools and techniques of the trade, plaster recipes, and pigmenting plaster or painting walls with natural paints. First-time builders will appreciate tips on common mistakes (and how to avoid them) discussed at each stage of the plastering process. Special focus is paid to the importance of planning and designing for earthen plasters- before building begins. The only comprehensive guide available on natural plasters, this book is written for the growing number of people who have decided to build their own natural homes as well as for professionals. Heavily illustrated with practical drawings and photographs, it also includes an extensive resource guide listing books, magazines, videos, builders, and suppliers.

Architects today incorporate principles of sustainable design as a matter of necessity. But the challenge of unifying climate control and building functionality, of securing a managed environment within a natural setting—and combating the harsh forces of wind, water, and sun—presented a new set of obstacles to architects and engineers in the mid-twentieth century. First published in 1963, Design with Climate was one of the most pioneering books in the field and remains an important reference for practitioners, teachers, and students, over fifty years later. In this book, Victor Olgyay explores the impact of climate on shelter design, identifying four distinct climatic regions and explaining the effect of each on orientation, air movement, site, and materials. He derives principles from biology, engineering, meteorology, and physics, and demonstrates how an analytical approach to climate management can merge into a harmonious and aesthetically sound design concept. This updated edition contains four new essays that provide unique insights on issues of climate design, showing how Olgyay's concepts work in contemporary practice. Ken Yeang, John Reynolds, Victor W. Olgyay, and Donlyn Lyndon explore bioclimatic design, eco design, and rational regionalism, while paying homage to Olgyay’s impressive groundwork and contributions to the field of architecture.

Ten years ago, Janine Marsh decided to leave her corporate life behind to fix up a run-down barn in northern France. This is the true story of her rollercoaster ride.