Review by Choice Review
Since 1970, anxieties about energy shortages and pollution have stimulated periodic waves of interest in alternative building techniques. Rael (Univ. of California, Berkeley) examines the ethical advantages of earthen architecture using 47 building case studies all completed after 1970. Four chapters focus on different building methods: rammed earth, mud brick, compressed earth block, and molded earth. All chapters begin by charting the transmission of a building method from society to society. Unfortunately, each overview lacks illustrations of the historical examples cited. Rael selected typologically and geographically diverse buildings, each synthesizing earthen building methods with contemporary technologies and aesthetics. He traveled globally to study each example firsthand, providing insight into the designer's technical, organizational, and siting choices. He also provides sophisticated aesthetic critiques, sensitively highlighting the metaphorical and poetic qualities of each. His case studies, however, illustrate only the work at hand and fail to provide contextual photographs or diagrams to explicate a project's development. Works by other earthen architecture specialists, such as Gernot Minke's Building with Earth (2006), do a better job of presenting visual information. Summing Up: Recommended. Academic/research libraries serving upper-level undergraduates, graduate students, and professionals/practitioners in architecture. A. R. Michelson University of Washington Libraries
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
Rael (architecture, Univ. of California, Berkeley) introduces earth as a free and universal building material, still sheltering billions of people in dry parts of the world. As he points out, many significant works have been made of earth, including ancient cities and most of the Great Wall of China. Here, he presents 47 examples constructed since 1970; 13 are located in the southern United States. The profiles are divided between rammed earth, mud brick, compressed earth block, and molded earth techniques. Most of these contemporary examples have steel roofs, and their earthen walls are not always structural. Most are homes, but there are also schools and religious buildings. Rael concludes with a reference to his web site, Eartharchitecture.org, which he says provides a meeting place for traditional and modern design techniques. A valuable addition to the flow of publications on the topic; recommended for public and academic libraries, particularly in the Southwest.-David R. Conn, Surrey P.L., B.C. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
