From The Ground Up: Innovative Green Homes (New City Books)

It is said that the history of modern architecture can be observed through the evolution of the single-family home. Over generations, each has hoped to improve on the last, rethinking and reinventing this seemingly simple building type. At certain historic moments in the discourse, new ideas about domesticity have given form to radically different configurations of home and community. Current emphasis on sustainability presents a unique opportunity to design affordable houses that respond to specific economic, social, and environmental challenges. In From the Ground Up, editor Peggy Tully presents the results of an international competition to create new models for affordable high-performance green homes in urban residential neighborhoods. Developed for a vacant infill site in Syracuse's Near Westside, these ambitious projects offer an array of innovative designs that provide a new vision for once-vital urban residential neighborhoods and well-designed energy-efficient homes throughout the United States. From the Ground Up includes topical essays by series editor Mark Robbins, architect Michael Sorkin, and architectural historian Susan Henderson Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Architecture Of The Present / Mark Robbins -- The Resilient Community / Susan Henderson -- The State Of The House / Michael Sorkin -- R-house / Architecture Research Office And Della Valle Bernheimer -- Live/work/home / Cook + Fox Architects -- Ted House / Onion Flats -- Asymmetric House / Adjaye / Associates -- Insular House / Office Da And Studio Himma -- Otisco House / Do-it-together -- Lumen-air House / Erdy Mchenry Architecture And Stenson-building + Furniture Design -- Sketchpads -- Notes On Contributors -- Illustration Credits. Edited By Peggy Tully ; With Essays By Mark Robbins, Michael Sorkin, Susan Henderson. Includes Bibliographical References.