ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book, in addition to the basic systems that are usually designed by consulting engineers or contractors, summarizes other systems including the legal (codes, regulations, and standards); structural (mostly from the point-of-view of when structures can and cannot be modified and when they must be modified);architectural (walls, windows, doors, millwork, stairs, etc.); and acoustics. Today, virtually every building is air-conditioned, and most of you who are reading this have probably never lived or worked in a non-air-conditioned building. Yet air-conditioning, even in the United States, is a relatively new development. So the goal of the next generation is to go forward to the past; to revisit the well-understood strategies of sustainable design from 100, or even 1,000, years ago.
