Green Building Trends

Green Building Trends [Giveaway]
Written by Preston Koerner | September 14, 2009 | read more: Books, Giveaway

Jerry Yudelson is a machine when it comes to publishing new books on cutting-edge green building topics. In his latest book, Green Building Trends: Europe, Yudelson tackles a topic that's popping up in the news more and more. Whether the topic is couched in a discussion of PassivHaus, Swedish prefabrication, or otherwise, it surfaces as a question: Are Europeans more advanced that Americans when it comes to green building design and innovation?

If you're looking for an answer, I suggest grabbing a copy of this book, and I'm not just saying this because Island Press was nice enough to send us a review copy. We're giving this review copy away to one lucky reader below.* I suggest grabbing Green Building Trends because it's thorough, and Yudelson spent a year doing the footwork and research to compile case studies, photographs, and illustrations. It's material you may not find anywhere else ...

Here's the straight truth, though. According to the case studies in the book, European green buildings routinely use 50-90% less energy than comparable certified green projects in the U.S. And that's a problem in need of a solution. Here's what you can expect from Green Building Trends:

Intro: European Green Buildings in Context
Ch. 1: The PassivHaus Concept and European Residential Design
Ch. 2: European Design Innovators
Ch. 3: European Green Buildings: What do They Know that We Don't?
Ch. 4: Green Buildings in the United Kingdom (case studies)
Ch. 5: Sustainable Buildings in Germany (case studies)
Ch. 6: Green Engineering in Europe
Ch. 7: Eco-Towns
Ch. 8: Green Building in the Retail Sector
Ch. 9: Looking to the Future
Ch. 10: The Challenge and Promise of Green Buildings: Lessons from Europe

I've previously read about the 2,000 Watt Society in an article on Samsø in The New Yorker, but in Chapter 9, Yudelson references the concept while making a point about setting stretch goals in absolute terms rather than percentage improvements. That's what the 2,000 Watt Society does. It sets an absolute goal to strive for rather than a percentage improvement.

Without going into too much detail, Yudelson makes some interesting recommendations that industry professionals should all read (for example: we should adopt a labeling system like the EPC/DEC regime in the UK). This is good reading, so make sure to grab a copy at Amazon:

[+] Green Building Trends: Europe by Jerry Yudelson.
[+] Green Building Consulting by Yudelson Associates