Sustainability
10 books on sustainable construction
We have been meaning for some time to write a post with a selection of the best books on sustainable construction, so we thought it would be a good idea to share a list of the 10 books on sustainable construction that, in our view, can best help you carry out your projects.
In fact, in our studio, when a new client comes in, it can sometimes be difficult to convey all the possibilities of sustainable construction in the first meetings, as it is such a broad topic with so much information and so many options that it is important to absorb everything calmly—not only through our architect, but also through blogs or books on sustainable construction. This was really the main reason we decided to create our blog.
Before we dive into the list, we would like to remind you that:
It is important to bear in mind that an eco-friendly home should also be natural and healthy, and built with non-toxic materials that also allow the building to breathe and regulate indoor humidity and temperature naturally—and it is precisely on these principles that my selection is based.
Finally, please note that our recommendation is based on our personal preferences as architects. Those of you who read us regularly know that we are absolute fans of passive houses, and for that reason the list focuses on passive and healthy construction in general, without focusing on any specific material. If you would like to build with a particular material—whether conventional materials such as brick, wood or concrete, or more alternative ones (straw, earth, etc.)—you can contact us and we will provide references, not only to specific books on sustainable construction, but also to associations of sustainable builders.
With that said, let’s get started!
10 essential books on sustainable construction
01 Passive Houses in the Mediterranean (Micheel Wassouf)
This book covers the basic concepts of building a passive house, applied to the Mediterranean climate.
An expert in the Passivhaus standard, Micheel Wassouf is an architect and consultant and one of Spain’s leading references on the German certification.
02 Green Roofs (Gernot Minke)
Gernot Minke is one of the leading figures when we talk about books on sustainable and natural construction in Europe, and he has carried out extensive research on green roofs—an element that helps us regulate a home’s humidity and temperature.
03 Living in a Healthy Home (Mariano Bueno)
Mariano Bueno is Spain’s foremost authority on healthy homes. Through a series of books, he provides the keys to building and living in a healthy home, free of chemicals, toxins and radiation, with ideal humidity and temperature.
04 Healthy Home (Mariano Bueno)
In this second instalment, Mariano Bueno delves deeper into the concepts explained in the first book. Both are excellent reads to introduce you to the field of healthy homes built with natural and sustainable materials.
05 Living Without Toxins (Elisabet Silvestre)
Elisabet Silvestre is a biologist and Mariano Bueno’s wife. In this book, she analyses in detail and explains the consequences of the toxicity of many building materials and all kinds of products found in the home.
06 Design with Climate: Bioclimatic Approach to Architectural Regionalism (Victor Olgyay)
This book is a somewhat more advanced manual: a compilation of sustainable construction and architecture concepts, with technical solutions and calculations. Essential for architects and very interesting if you are considering building your own home.
07 The ZEDbook: solutions for a shrinking world (Bill Dunster)
Bill Dunster is an English architect who, after several years of training in sustainable construction, won a public housing competition on the outskirts of London by building Europe’s first zero-energy neighbourhood. The Beddington Zero (BedZed) development is a community of semi-detached homes that incorporate all kinds of consumption-reduction strategies based on super-insulation, resulting in a drastic reduction in heating demand.
Tenants must meet a series of requirements to access one of the homes; for example, one member of each household must be freelance so they can work from home—not only reducing energy use for transport, but also ensuring someone is on hand to make sure the house functions properly throughout the day.
The community also shares and works together so that the neighbourhood functions as a whole, managing waste through a biomass boiler and with a shared vehicle fleet.
In his books on sustainable construction, Bill Dunster explains how to build zero-energy homes and make them viable at neighbourhood scale.
08 A Toxin-Free Home (Carlos de Prada)
This is a free manual published by the Vivo Sano Foundation, structured by chapters, and well worth consulting before carrying out any renovation or improvement at home if we want to ensure it is healthy.
09 IBN Manual: Radiation
In a list of essential books on sustainable construction, the IBN’s own publishing imprint could not be left out.
IBN is the Spanish Institute of Bioconstruction, the leading national body in this field. This book is based on the module from the Master’s in Bioconstruction that they teach.
It is an essential book if you are going to build an eco-friendly home free from radiation.
10 IBN Manual: Electrical Installations
Finally, and as a complement to the previous one, this book compiles the module from the IBN Master’s in Bioconstruction focused on the design of biocompatible electrical installations.
These last two are more technical books, intended to put bioconstruction into practice in home building or renovation projects. Dense reads that begin by reviewing key concepts of electricity and end by defining, in detail, the electrical installation options for a home.
That concludes our list of essential books on sustainable construction, but if you would like to explore a specific topic in more depth, please do not hesitate to contact us by leaving a comment or sending us an email via the contact form, so we can expand the list with specific titles. It is a very broad subject, and there is a great deal written about it.