21 - Advanced building materials and eco-building design

Abstract

This chapter is a review of the issues surrounding the design of environmentally responsible buildings. The brief for the environmental conditions (temperature and humidity, light, sound, air quality and their effect on health) inside a building will affect how much energy is required to achieve the conditions and the ease that low energy and passive solutions can work. A building is not isolated and needs to consider the energy, water, food and material sources needed for its construction and operation, and how they sit in wider local, regional and global context.