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Book reviews: Design in a changing climate

Words:
Shukri Sultan

PiP puts the climate emergency in the spotlight with this round of book selections, with publications on hybrid structures, bamboo and design for climate change

Engineered Bamboo Structures

The creator of the award-winning technology glubam, glue laminated bamboo, provides an exhaustive guide on how to use one of the world’s fastest growing materials, bamboo. Nine chapters are broken into clear subsections, detailing sustainability, manufacturing process, material behaviours, structural systems and current research and findings on the use of glubam in construction. Illustrated with diagrams, charts, photos and drawings, this book provides a framework for architects looking to work with this versatile material.

Yan Xiao. CRC Press. 339p. £89.99

 

Hybrid Construction – Timber External Walls

This book presents practical information on the benefits of combining a timber facade with a concrete load-bearing structure. Clearly written in five chapters, it outlines essential structural and constructional topics, sound and thermal insulation requirements and fire and moisture protective measures. It also highlights a series of successful German case studies with photographs and detailed drawings to assist architects with their own hybrid timber constructions. 

Oliver Fischer, Werner Lang, Stefan Winter. Detail Practice. 96p. £42

 

Designing for the Climate Emergency: A Guide for Architecture Students

With the UK’s hottest temperatures recorded this summer, this book is a much-needed guide for those committed to designing a sustainable future. Although intended for students, it is equally relevant to architects, with six chapters examining how to incorporate consideration for the climate at each stage of the design process. Equipped with a glossary of key terms and a further reading list, it is an accessible manual to help designers navigate the current crisis. 

Sofie Pelsmakers, Elizabeth Donovan, Aidan Hoggard and Urszula Kozminska. RIBA Publishing. 281p £35


Buy at ribabooks.com

 

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