Does energy consumption influence architectural style? Should more energy-efficient buildings look different? Can that "look" be used to explain or enhance their performance? Architecture and Energy provides architects and architectural theorists with more durable arguments for environmental design decisions, arguments addressing three different scales or aspects of contemporary construction. By drawing together essays from the leading experts in the field, this book engages with crucial issues in sustainable design, such as: The larger role of energy in forming the cultural and economic systems in which architecture is conceived, constructed, and evaluated The different measures and meanings of energy "performance" and how those measures are realized in buildings The specific ways in which energy use translates into the visible aspects of architectural style. Drawing on research from the UK, US, Europe, and Asia the book outlines the problems surrounding energy and architecture and provides the reader with a considered overview of this important topic.

The laws of thermodynamics—and their implications for architecture—have not been fully integrated into architectural design. Architecture and building science too often remain constrained by linear concepts and methodologies regarding energy that occlude significant quantities and qualities of energy. The Hierarchy of Energy in Architecture addresses this situation by providing a clear overview of what energy is and what architects can do with it. Building on the emergy method pioneered by systems ecologist Howard T. Odum, the authors situate the energy practices of architecture within the hierarchies of energy and the thermodynamics of the large, non-equilibrium, non-linear energy systems that drive buildings, cities, the planet and universe. Part of the PocketArchitecture series, the book is divided into a fundamentals section, which introduces key topics and the emergy methodology, and an applications section, which features case studies applying emergy to various architectural systems. The book provides a concise but rigorous exposure to the system boundaries of the energy systems related to buildings and as such will appeal to professional architects and architecture students.

Convergence is based on the thermodynamic premise that architecture should maximize its ecological and architectural power. No matter how paradoxical it might initially seem, architects should maximize energy intake, maximize energy use, and maximize energy feedback and reinforcement. This presumes that the necessary excess of architecture is in fact an architect’s greatest asset when it comes to an agenda for energy, not a liability. But how do we start to understand the full range of eco-thermodynamic principles which need to be engaged with in order to achieve this? Kiel Moe explicates three factors: materials, energy systems and amortization. When these three factors converge through design, the resulting buildings begin to perform in complex, if not subtle, ways. By drawing on a range of architectural, thermodynamic, and ecological sources as well as illustrated and well-designed case studies, the author shows what architecture stands to gain by simultaneously maximizing the architectural and ecological power of buildings. .

A detailed design guide to energy-efficient, passive solar architecture, drawing together essential information from leading European practitioners and world experts.

"This book addresses the different perspectives of energy consumption and demand to ensure sustainable energy, increased energy efficiency, improved energy policies and reasonable energy costs"--

A unique and revolutionary text which explains the principles behind the LT Method (2.1), a manual design tool developed in Cambridge by the BRE. The LT Method is a unique way of estimating the combined energy usage of lighting, heating, cooling and ventilation systems, to enable the designer to make comparisons between options at an early, strategic stage. In addition,Energy and Environment in Architecture the book deals with other environmental issues such as noise, thermal comfort and natural ventilation design. A variety of case studies provide a critique of real buildings and highlight good practice. These topics include thermal comfort, noise and natural ventilation.