Books About Sustainable Design

Create an Oasis with Greywater, Builder’s Greywater Guide, Branched Drain Greywater Systems

by Art Ludwig

Art Ludwig has created in these three books a clear and detailed explanation of the benefits and ease of setup of a more sustainable and logical recycling system for domestic, public and commercial greywater. They are rich with diagrams on how to close the loop by recycling greywater on site.

Design with Nature

by McHarg, I.

We can only echo Lewis Mumford’s review of this important book on landscape architecture when he said "In presenting us with a vision of organic exuberance and human delight, which ecology and ecological design promise to open up for us, McHarg revives the hope for a better world.”

Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture

Hemenway, T.

Toby Hemenway does a great job of summarizing Bill Mollison's Permaculture concepts and relating them to smaller suburban landscapes. This book also contains good tables on plants for various purposes and a good resource list.

Holistic Management

by Allan Savory & Jody Butterfield

This book is about making decisions that consider human values, activities that are consistent with the values, and restoring, preserving, and acquiring the resources to make it all come together. It’s good for individuals, families, organizations or governments to manage effectively.

Introduction to Permaculture

by Bill Mollison

This is an excellent book for those new to permaculture concepts. Bill Mollison, the father of permaculture describes the central permaculture concepts and practices – stacking functions, pattern understanding, zone analysis - in a clear, informative manner that is well suited to the permaculture novice.

Our Ecological Footprint: Reducing Human Impact on the Earth

by Williams E. Rees, Mathis Wackernagel

Our Ecological Footprint cuts through the talk about sustainability and introduces a revolutionary new way to determine humanity's impact on the Earth--a reader-friendly approach to calculating our impact on Earth’s ecosystems.

Permaculture: A Designer's Manual

by Bill Mollison

This is the permaculture practitioner’s bible. This is the most comprehensive book on permaculture design concepts and practices yet written. This is not the book for those new to permaculture design--for that we recommend “Introduction to Permaculture”.

Planting Green Roofs and Living Walls

by Nigel Dunnett & Noel Kingsbury

This is the best book to date that is a comprehensive argument for integrating nature and architecture. This is an indispensable reference guide for both greenroofs and the greening of vertical surfaces.

Rainwater Catchment Systems: For Domestic Supply

by John Gould & Erik Nissen-Petersen

This is a great resource that provides a state-of-the-art review of practice in the collection of rainwater. The prime focus of the book is on implementation of roof and ground catchment systems.

The HOK Guidebook To Sustainable Design

Demonstrates how real, completed, sustainable design projects are economically viable and increase client satisfaction. Provides a clear road map for the integrated multidisciplinary design process. Contains a glossary of terms and a list of top print and Internet resources.