ABSTRACT

The first question to answer should be: what is an ecohouse? Eco-architecture sees buildings as part of the larger ecology of the planet and the building as part of a living habitat. This contrasts with the more common notions of many architects, who see a building as a work of art, perhaps on exhibition in a settlement or as ‘frozen music’ in the people-less pictures of glossy magazines. Some architects see the process of design as a production line with the building as a product to be deposited on a site, regardless of its particular environment or qualities. You will see from the case studies at the end of the book that ecohouses are closely connected to their site, society, climate, region and the planet.