Sustainable Office Design - Unlocking Performance & Productivity

Contents

Daylighting Performance and Design, Gregg Ander (Wiley, 2003), provides uncluttered language and clarity. ISBN 04712 62994.

Sun, Wind & Light: Architectural Design Strategies, GZ Brown and Mark DeKay (John Wiley, 2001). A real inventory of approaches to heat, light, ventilation, energy and other elements of sustainable building. This is in the How To department and includes analysis techniques. Really for practitioners. ISBN 04713 48775.

Ten Shades of Green: Architecture and the Natural World, Peter Buchanan (The Architectural League of New York, 2005). Along with Big & Green, this is a great inspirer, bringing sustainable architecture to life through some excellent examples, opulently photographed and illustrated. A joyous way to impart the basic principles of sustainable building design. ISBN 03937 31898.

Rough Guide to Sustainability, Brian Edwards (RIBA Enterprises, 2005). An excellent, short, readable introduction to sustainable architecture, including drivers, policies and regulations, as well as techniques. Full of crisp illustrations and diagrams. A good starting point. ISBN 18594 61743.

Green Buildings Pay. Brian Edwards, 2nd edn (Taylor & Francis, 2003) gives an overview of office and school design with case studies (including the views of the designers and the client) to demonstrate that more sustainable buildings make sense financially and demonstrably raise productivity. Perhaps most pertinent is the chapter 'The Relevance of Green Buildings to the Procurement and Marketability of Offices'. ISBN 04152 62712.

Big & Green: Toward Sustainable Architecture in the 21st Century, edited by David Gissen (Princeton Architectural Press, 2002). A visual and conceptual feast, to read or give to people to trigger enthusiasm and inspiration. Suitable for all audiences, it covers Energy, Light & Air, Greenery, Water & Waste, Construction and Urbanism and includes interviews with some of the key movers and shakers in this field, such as Robert Fox or William McDonough. A coffee table book with guts and substance. ISBN 15689 83611.

The Distributed Workplace, edited by Andrew Harrison, Paul Wheeler and Carolyn Whitehead (Spon Press, 2004). Coming at it from a different angle, this is how to enable people to work in decentralised environments in a collaborative, flexible way by making the most of communications technologies. It has implications for energy use, transport and employee well-being and productivity. ISBN 04153 18904.

Sustainable Construction: Green Building Design & Delivery, Charles J. Kibert, 2nd edn (John Wiley, 2007). Excellent, solid, readable book for when you're ready to dig in seriously. Covers a wide range of issues, from tools and standards, to the design and building process, landscaping, water, energy and atmosphere, indoor air quality, materials use, commissioning and economic analysis of sustainable buildings. Full of information and as relevant to the practitioner as to the generalist. Although it covers technical issues, it's accessible. ISBN 97804 70114 216.

LEED Materials: A Resource Guide to Green Building, Ari Meisel (Princeton Architectural Press, 2010). Does what it says on the tin. ISBN 97815 68988 856.

Guide to Green Building Rating Systems, Linda Reeder (John Wiley, 2010). Helps navigate through the burgeoning rating systems being applied to buildings. ISBN 97804 70401 941.

The Good Office: Green Design on the Cutting Edge, John Riordan and Kristen Becker (Harper Collins, 2008). A sumptuously illustrated collection of case studies; not a technical how-to, but a good place to get some ideas and inspiration. ISBN 97800 61537 899.

Introduction to Architectural Science: The Basis of Sustainable Design, Steven Szokolay, 2nd edn (Architectural Press, 2008). If you started with the Rough Guide to Sustainability, you might try this one when you're ready to dig in deeper. It's getting into the nitty-gritty how-to stuff, with a particular emphasis on Heat, Light and Sound. Only for practitioners, but well presented and illustrated, and avoids feeling like a textbook. ISBN 97807 50687 041.

Retrofitting Office Buildings to be Green and Energy-Efficient, Urban Land Institute, 2010. A one-stop shop on retrofitting office buildings, from the inside out, this includes case studies, trends and certification, and a discussion of public policy. It is clear and well illustrated. ISBN 97808 74201 338.

Biodiversity for Low and Zero Carbon Buildings: A Technical Guide for New Build, Dr Carol Williams (RIBA Publishing, 2010). Biodiversity is going up the agenda and is an issue with which companies will increasingly have to grapple. This provides practical guidance to taking biodiversity into accounting in designing new buildings, and also summarises current legislation governing biodiversity in the UK. ISBN 97818 59463 536

Smart & Sustainable Built Environments, Jay Yang (ed) (Blackwell Publishing, 2005) covers a range of state of the art methods and technologies, including emerging tools and approaches. There are several chapters specifically relevant to sustainable office design: technical solutions, reducing energy related emissions, the increasing costs of commercial buildings once emissions trading is factored in, and raised floor systems for office fit-outs. Many other chapters are also relevant. ISBN 14051 24229.

The Green Guide to Specification, Jane Anderson, David Shiers and Kristian Steele (Wiley-Blackwell, 2009), this fourth edition provides an easy introduction to the environmental performance of both interior and exterior construction materials. ISBN 97814 05119 610.

Transmaterial 3, Blake Brownell (ed) (Princeton Architectural Press, 2010), is the third volume in a joy of a series for designers interested in exciting new materials. Although not specifically aimed at sustainable design, it provides an environmental summary for a large proportion of entries, which should remove any notion that sustainable design is about using recycled egg cartons. Beautifully illustrated, with detailed information on properties and suppliers. You can also read about many of the entries on the website, but you won't have the tactile or visual pleasure of the book version. ISBN 97815 68988 931.

The Eco-design Handbook: A Complete Sourcebook for the Home and Office, Alastair Fuad-Luke (Thames & Hudson, 2009). A new and improved edition of this book, great to dip into for ideas on materials and products of a sustainable bent. It also provides guidance and information on suppliers and other useful contacts. Although not aimed at buildings, some of the materials and furniture are relevant. ISBN 97805 00288 399.

Window Systems for High-Performance Buildings, John Carmody, Stephen Selkowitz, Eleanor S. Lee, Dariush Arasteh and Todd Willmert (US Department of Energy, 2004).

Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature, Janine Benyus (William Morrow, 1998), is a delight for the mind for anyone interested in seeing the potential of sustainable design, even if they don't think of biomimicry as being their thing. It is beautifully written, a rarity in this field, and is full of inspiring ideas and stories. ISBN 06881 60999.

Natural Capitalism: The Next Industrial Revolution, Hawken, Paul, Amory & Hunter Lovins (Earthscan, 2005) is the read-this-if-nothing-else introduction to sustainable design in its broadest sense. The chapters on building design and tunnelling through the cost barrier are particularly pertinent, the latter demonstrating that optimising a whole system, rather than its parts, can yield compound simplicities and savings. Highly readable and inspiring. ISBN 18440 71700.

Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, William McDonough and Michael Braungart (North Point Press, 2002). A slim introduction to the cradle to cradle philosophy of going beyond merely being efficient to creating virtuous closed loops in production. Highly readable and inspiring, and though not specifically building oriented, it has transferable principles. ISBN 08654 75873.

Cool Companies: How the Best Businesses Boost Profits and Productivity by Cutting Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Joseph Romm (Earthscan, 1999). One of the best introductions to using sustainable design to unleash the productivity giant. The chapters on lighting, heating and ventilation are the most pertinent. Gives scores of examples of refits to commercial buildings which had short payback times and productivity gains that exceeded all expectations. It also provides some straightforward How To advice. ISBN 18538 36559.

Factor Five: Transforming the Global Economy through 80% Improvements in Resource Productivity, Ernst von Weizsäcker, Karlson 'Charlie' Hargroves, et al (Earthscan, 2009). This is a new and improved, updated, colour-illustrated version of the classic Factor Four, published in 1997. There is one rich, fat chapter dedicated to the Buildings Sector. ISBN: 97818 44075 911.

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