Given that 39 percent of human-generated greenhouse gases come from the construction and operation of buildings, architecture and the construction industry will need a complete overhaul for decarbonization to take place. As Barnabas Calder demonstrates in his recent book, energy provision and the ways we build are tightly interconnected. He surveys the history of architecture from the construction of the Khufu pyramid to LEED certifications from the standpoint of energy, presenting multiple case studies that extend across time and place to highlight this neglected aspect of construction, with the West featured prominently after the Industrial Revolution. This refreshing book will likely find a broad readership, including among historians and students of architecture and professional architects.
Today’s architectural students are well versed in the history of modern architecture, the shadow of which still looms over the architectural curriculum and the profession. As designers, they learn to work with materials such as...
University of California Press