Building Blocks Summary and Analysis

Three examples of integrating green technology, efficient function and uplifting aesthetics in building open the fifth chapter. Builders in these examples set out to create organic buildings that integrate art with function, use local materials, and renewable energy in buildings so efficiently built that their demand for energy is less by far than conventional buildings. They all have in common a new approach to building and community design that prioritizes humanity and nature, so that local communities and ecosystems are stimulated by instead of sacrificed to the new buildings. The goal of this new kind of design is not only to help nature to recover, but to make neighborhoods safer and driving less necessary.

A cooperatively designed, renewably fueled building is at once less expensive to build and more attractive to buyers than conventional construction, as it improves worker...