Lundnäs House, Arbrä, Sweden. Photograph © 2019 Patric Johansson.
1. Living Wild
Do you feel the call of the wild? Want to embrace the simple life? Long to quit the rat race and start life anew in a log cabin? Then Living Wild: New Beginnings in the Great Outdoors is the perfect read.
The book features families, couples and individuals who have already made the leap and escaped into nature. From a ranch on the Great Plains of America, to a narrowboat on the canals of Worcester, the book explores how we can leave our old lives behind and create something beautiful. Illustrated with dreamy photos and enriched with personal stories and practical insights, Living Wild will have you reaching for your passport and planning your own adventure.
Read Living Wild: New Beginnings in the Great Outdoors for more ideas on sustainable living.
2. Reclaimed
Few green building books are as beautiful, or as inspirational, as Reclaimed: New Homes From Old Materials. Featuring homes that will make your heart flutter and your creative juices bubble, the book looks at how we can reuse and repurpose existing materials without compromising on design.
Divided into four key categories - brick, timber, metal and materials constituted from waste – Reclaimed offers ideas and inspiration on how you can incorporate sustainable processes into your build or renovation. The twenty four homes featured in the book showcase the best in green, contemporary design and demonstrate what can be done with a little imagination and a real commitment to the environment.
Start your green build with the help of Reclaimed: New Homes From Old Materials.
3. Off the Grid
There are times when everyone dreams of escaping it all and running away to a cabin in the woods. Far from the hustle and bustle of daily life, the anxieties of the modern world and the gloom of the news cycle, the irresistibly romantic homes in this beautiful book are an escapist’s fantasy.
All of the properties featured in Off the Grid are fully, or almost fully, self-sufficient. Set in some of the world’s most spectacular and least accessible locations, they range from log cabins to beachside huts. All of these envy-inducing builds have a real focus on renewable energy, sustainable building materials and quality architecture, making Off the Grid the perfect handbook for your own green escape.
Pick up a copy of Off the Grid to learn more.
4. Garden City
One of the most ambitious green architecture books around, Garden City is a spectacular global survey of the buildings and concepts ‘greening’ our cities. Bringing together groundbreaking ideas on architecture and horticulture, the book offers hope of a more sustainable future and a fresh look at modern design.
Garden City lets us reimagine our urban areas, swap grey tower blocks for cascading waterfalls of greenery, replace skyscrapers with vertical gardens and turn city blocks into treehouses. By placing nature at the very heart of architectural design and city planning, we can begin to transform our most polluted areas and regenerate our planet. If you need a little green inspiration, this book will give you the horticultural hit you’re looking for.
Read Garden City for more green design inspiration.
5. Can We Save the Planet?
When you see plastic bags choking our waterways and rubbish filling our oceans, it’s hard not to feel like humans have a lot to answer for. Can We Save The Planet? looks at one of the most fundamental questions facing the world today. The book examines the impact humans have had on the environment over the past two hundred and fifty years and asks whether or not it’s too late to turn things around.
Engaging, easy to read and incisive, Can We Save the Planet? covers key issues like deforestation, climate change and single-use plastics. As well as assessing the damage that’s already been done, the book looks at what we as a society need to do to make things better. So, if you spend your days worrying about if we’ve already reached the point of no return, Can We Save the Planet? could provide the answer.
Read Can We Save The Planet? to explore this all-important question.
6. Futurekind
If you feel despondent or powerless when faced with potential climate catastrophe, Futurekind should be the next title on your reading list. Part manual, part manifesto, part call-to-arms, the book brings together sixty world-changing projects that are shaping a better future for us all.
Realised through a process of collaboration between communities and designers, the projects focus on socially and environmentally conscious design. Harnessing the latest technologies and addressing important, real-world issues, they are empowering a whole new generation of designers and activists. Delve into Futurekind to find inspiration for your next social or environmental campaign.
Learn more about these exciting projects by reading Futurekind.
7. The Green Imperative
The Green Imperative is one of the cornerstones of the sustainability library. The classic title is just as relevant today as when it was first published in 1995. Written by sustainable design pioneer Victor Papanek, it looks at the purpose of architecture and design and asks how designers can forge a more balanced path.
In the book, Papanek reimagines the world around us. He questions the ‘bigger is better’ myth and looks at how we can reassess our principles, use less, reuse more and design for the long term. Insightful and instructive, the book makes a compelling case for a radical rethink of how and what we consume. By looking at things from a human scale, The Green Imperative shows us how we, as individuals, can make a difference and really impact the future of our planet.
Read The Green Imperative for more essential eco ideas.
8. Houses That Can Save the World
If you’re looking for practical steps you can take to reduce your carbon footprint and boost sustainability, Houses That Can Save the World could help. The book features nineteen building and design strategies that will change the way you think about your home. While many of these ideas harness new technologies, a lot are surprisingly simple and call on tried and tested vernacular methods.
This inspirational book takes in projects from around the globe, including developing countries in Asia, Africa and South America. It examines how climate change, polluting plastics, global migration, rapidly expanding cities and ageing populations are impacting the environment and the way we live. It also looks at how architects, designers, engineers, self-builders and artists can work to address these challenges and create a better world.
Explore the ideas in Houses That Can Save the World to get inspiration for your next build.
9. 123 Seriously Smart Things You Need To Know About The Climate
Filled to the brim with astonishing facts about the environment, this book will help you impress friends with your expert knowledge and score that winning point in your local pub quiz. Accessible, fun and well-structured, 123 Seriously Smart Things You Need To Know About The Climate will make you think again about our planet, our environment and the challenges we face.
For example, did you know that the sun gives out ten thousand times more energy than we need? That seventy percent of all birds on Earth are chickens? Or that deserts provide food for fish? If not, read this book to brush up on your environmental trivia and get a new appreciation for how incredible our planet really is.
Read 123 Seriously Smart Things You Need To Know About The Climate to improve your environmental knowledge.
10. Habitat
Long before humans started building towers of concrete and glass, we used local, natural materials and inherited knowledge to create dwellings specifically designed for their location. In Habitat, we hear from the world’s leading experts on vernacular architecture. They examine how local buildings have stood the test of time and analyse the lessons they offer for the future of sustainable architecture.
The buildings in the book are arranged by climate zone, allowing us to see how their design is affected by climatic conditions and other regional factors. These resilient homes show how architecture can be practical and beautiful without being wasteful, and how traditional knowledge is often key to making designs that really work.
Pick up a copy of Habitat to learn more.
