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Sustainability

Sustainable development

Green belts
Green buildings

Ground source heating/cooling

Green belts

Association for the Protection of Rural Scotland

Green belts: frames or fragments, 1998
Green belts have occupied an important position with the Scottish planning system for nearly half a century. This report reviews current policy and suggests changes to national policy.
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Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Conservation and sustainability in historic towns, 2005
Examines how the two key issues of urban conservation and sustainability relate to each other, and how they can be brought together in a common philosophy and practice. It sets out the theoretical background and tests the achievement of architectural conservation through case studies from across Europe, assessing them against the sustainability agenda.

Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment

Urban parks - do you know what you're getting for your money?, 2006
Against a backdrop of calls for more resources for green spaces, CABE Space set out to establish whether simply providing more resources would automatically improve green space quality. Anecdotal evidence suggested that some local authorities are better than others at using the money they've got to deliver good parks. CABE wanted to understand how local authorities spend their resources in relation to parks and green spaces and the subsequent impact of this.

Countryside Commission

Green capital: planning for London's greenspace, 1991
This publication covers a wide range of issues including; green belt, metropolitan open land, commons, agriculture, green chains and green corridors, flood plains, trees and woodland, pollution, recreation in green space and, promotion and interpretation.
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Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions

Green spaces, better places - final report of the Urban Green Spaces Taskforce, 2002
The report places emphasis on the benefits urban parks and green spaces bring to people, neighbourhoods and cities. Considers some of the problems affecting urban parks and green spaces and how they might be overcome. Makes recommendations for good practice and an effective Strategic Policy Framework as well as how to deliver a wider vision of 'liveable' sustainable, modern towns and cities.
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Green spaces, better places - summary of the final report of the Urban Green Spaces Taskforce, 2002
The report places emphasis on the benefits urban parks and green spaces bring to people, neighbourhoods and cities. Considers some of the problems affecting urban parks and green spaces and how they might be overcome. Makes recommendations for good practice and an effective Strategic Policy Framework as well as how to deliver a wider vision of 'liveable' sustainable, modern towns and cities.
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Department of the Environment

Effectiveness of green belts, 1993
This report aims to review the effectiveness of Green Belt policy and investigate how it may be improved. The study covered Green Belt policy in England and Scotland. Twenty eight local authority policy case studies were complemented by detailed analysis of development control data and information on appeals.
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Planning Policy Guidance Note PPG 2 (rev) Green belts, 1995
This PPG; states the general intention of Green Belt policy; reaffirms the specific purposes of including land in green belts; gives policy a more positive thrust by specifying for the first time objectives for the use of land in green belts; confirms that green belts must be protected, advises on defining boundaries and on safeguarding land for longer-term development needs and; maintains the presumption against inappropriate development within green belts.
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Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions

Green belt statistics: England 1997, 1999
This information bulletin presents statistics on designated Green Belt land in England. It relates to the extent of Green Belt in 1997 and is based on a new methodology involving the capture of digitised Green Belt boundaries from proposal maps in development plans to establish the extent of Green Belt in each local authority.
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Earthscan Publications

Greening the built environment, 1998
This publication draws attention to the major challenges and policy implications and offers analysis, approaches and vision for moving towards sustainable towns and cities that in turn will facilitate sustainable lifestyles.
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European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions

Land use management and environmental improvement in cities, 1992
Proceedings of a European Workshop, Lisbon, 6-8 May 1992.
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Green Earth Books

Ecovillage Living: Restoring the Earth and Her People, 2002
Thematic coverage of 15 aspects of ecovillage life shared between the three main subject areas; social/economic, cultural/spiritual, and ecological. Under these main headings, the book brings together knowledge and experience from ecovillages around the world, each aspect written by those who have pioneered the particular development. It is plain that although ecovillages build on a common vision, they differ greatly from each other, ranging from the broadly practical/ecological emphasis, to the more spiritual values held at places such as Findhorn.

Spon Press

Construction ecology: nature as a basis for green buildings, 2001
Designers of the built environment can learn much from the mature field of industrial ecology as they focus increasingly on green or sustainable construction. Natural systems are the ideal model not only for human systems but also for the built environment in which they live and function. The principles of design, energy, the flow of materials, and closed loop behaviour can all be understood in this context. Industrial ecology provides a sound means of systematising the various ideas which come under the banner of sustainable construction and provides a model for the design, operation and ultimate disposal of buildings.
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The Land is Ours

Defining rural sustainability, 1999
Fifteen criteria for sustainable developments in the countryside, together with three model policies for local plans. A report produced by The Rural Planning Group of The Land is Ours.
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Green buildings

Architects' Journal

AJ Focus Sustainable roofing. AJ Focus 01.98, 1998
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Architectural Press

Sustainable architecture. 2nd edition, 1999
The practice of architecture is increasingly constrained by legislation aimed at protecting the environment or the consumer, mainly the results of directives from the European Commission. The broadening of environmental controls, entailing desirable green principles, means that the questions of environmental assessment, impact on ecosystems or heritage sites, energy use, safety requirements, life-cycle assessment and environmental audits, have become part of the daily life of the construction industry. This book explains the new responsibilities and opportunities for architects emanating from environmental laws, especially those which derive from Euro-directives.
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Building Green Inc

Environmental building news (periodical),
A monthly newsletter published since 1992 featuring comprehensive, practical information on a range of topics related to sustainable design in the built environment. Web access - URL: http://www.buildinggreen.com.

Building Research Energy Conservation Support Unit

Good Practice Guide 74 Briefing the design team for energy efficiency in new buildings, 1994
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New Practice Profile 119 Hockerton housing project: design lessons for developers and clients, 2000
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Good Practice Guide 194 Building your own energy efficient house, 1997
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Good Practice Case Study 340 Environmentally sensitive housing - Dallow Road, Luton, 1997
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Building Research Establishment

Information Paper 18/91 Environmental impact of buildings, 1991
Buildings and their services allow occupants to control their internal environment, but they also affect the immediate neighbourhood and have a significant impact on regional and global environments. Changes in the external environment may also affect the performance and perhaps the viability of buildings within their expected lifetime. This paper describes the current major Environment arising from buildings.
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Information Paper 13/00 Part 1 Green buildings revisited: small projects, 2000
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Information Paper 13/00 Part 2 Green buildings revisited: large projects, 2000
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Information Paper 1/01 Environmental benchmarking for property portfolio managers, 2001
Paper describes an approach to the environmental benchmarking of whole stocks of non domestic buildings. This can provide a quick and easy method for property managers to produce an environmental profile of their stock.
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Information Paper 13/03 Part 1 Sustainable buildings: benefits for occupiers, 2003
Results from a study of the business benefits of sustainable construction practices in the construction and property sectors. This set of four papers focus on benefits for; occupiers, designers, investors and developers, and constructors.
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Information Paper 13/03 Part 2 Sustainable buildings: benefits for designers, 2003
Results from a study of the business benefits of sustainable construction practices in the construction and property sectors. This set of four papers focus on benefits for; designers, occupiers, investors and developers, and constructors.
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Information Paper 13/03 Part 3 Sustainable buildings: benefits for investors and developers, 2003
Results from a study of the business benefits of sustainable construction practices in the construction and property sectors. This set of four papers focus on benefits for; investors and developers, designers, occupiers, and constructors.
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Information Paper 13/03 Part 4 Sustainable buildings: benefits for constructors, 2003
Results from a study of the business benefits of sustainable construction practices in the construction and property sectors. This set of four papers focus on benefits for; constructors, investors and developers, designers, and occupiers.
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Information Paper 10/04 Whole life value: sustainable design in the built environment, 2004
Outlines the concept of Whole Life Value (WLV) and describes the WLV Framework, which is a web-based tool providing an integrated framework for the variety of design tools that deal with the issue of sustainability in the built environment. The framework enables designers and their clients to take account of the most significant aspects of sustainability and to predict the whole life value of their projects.
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Report 355 Towards a framework for environmental assessment of building materials and components, 1998
This report is the output of a project funded by the European Community under the Brite Euram programme. The objective of this project was to develop a framework, acceptable across Europe, for assessment of the major environmental impacts of building materials.
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Report 366 Sustainable retail premises: an environmental guide to design, refurbishment and management of retail premises, 1999
The primary objective of this environmental guide is to reduce the impacts of retail premises and shopping centres on the environment, whilst at the same time bringing enhanced business return for developers, investors and retailers.
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Report 370 BRE methodology for environmental profiles of construction materials, components and buildings, 1999
This document provides a description of the basic principles that are applied in the creation of environmental profiles and is then structured around the different LCA stages that are undertaken to produce the environmental profiles.
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Report 390 Green guide to housing specification, an environmental profiling system for building materials and components, 2000
This publication has been developed to provide house builders and housing designers with a simple reference guide to the environmental impacts of the construction materials most commonly used in house building.
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Report 475 Green guide to composites: an environmental profiling system for composite materials and products, 2004
Created to enable the composites sector to understand the environmental and social impacts associated with composite production and assist with the decisions made about material and process choice. Twelve different environmental impacts are individually scored and totalled to give an overall environmental impact summary rating, and two social impact ratings are also given. Because this guide concentrates on materials and manufacturing the impacts associated with products beyond the factory gate (the use, maintenance and disposal stages of the life cycle) have not been assessed. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has been used in this guide for environmental investigation.
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Building Services Research and Information Association

Case Studies 16/99 Environmental case studies. Volume 2, 1999
These case studies describe the main stages in a building's life cycle and includes both the commercial and domestic sector. The procurement process, reuse and recycling of materials, sustainability, renovation of listed buildings, integration between buildings and landscape, and efficient use of water resources are covered.
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Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd

Sustainable practices in the built environment. 2nd edition, 2001
Sustainability is a key issue and its impact on the construction industry as one of the major users of the Earth's resources, is starting to take hold. This book deals with sustainability as it affects the construction industry, looking at the techniques and issues which designers, engineers, planners and construction managers will have to deal with in their day-to-day activities.
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Chelsea Green Publishing

New ecological home: a complete guide to green building options, 2004
An overview of green home-building techniques, materials, products, and technologies, written for home buyers, builders, architects, and contractors and intended to help avoid common problems when building green. It discusses the principles of green building and why they are desirable; covers logistical aspects of building such as site selection.

Natural house: a complete guide to healthy, energy efficient, environmental homes, 2000
Examines the options for building a house that is economical, energy-efficient, kind to the environment, and pleasurable to inhabit. Explores the pros and cons of 14 natural building methods, including straw bale, rammed earth, cob, cordwood, adobe, earthbags, papercrete, earthships, and others. Illustrated throughout.
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CIRIA

Publication C503 Environmental good practice - working on site, 1998
Identifies the key actions that can be taken during construction that mean the difference between good and bad environmental practice.
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Publication C650 Environmental good practice on site. 2nd edition, 2005
This handbook provides practical guidance about managing construction on site to control environmental impacts.
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Publication C651 Environmental good practice - pocket book - checklists, 2005
Containing a series of good practice checklists to follow while working on a project, from design and planning through the construction phase on site, to project completion. It is relevant to both small and large-scale projects.
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Project Report PR 73 Environment in construction - a desk study, 1999
This report uses CIRIA benchmark reports SP93 and SP94 (both 1993) to define recent progress and identify gaps in guidance and industry action in the following categories; Sustainable development, Carbon dioxide emissions. Human productivity in buildings, Resource use and recycling, Water conservation, Renewable resource issues, Contaminated land, Groundwater contamination and Impact on the local environment.
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Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions

Environment act 1995, Water Industry act 1991 - Code of practice on conservation, access and recreation: Guidance for the Environment Agency and water and sewerage undertakers, 2000
This code of practice gives guidance to water undertakers, sewerage undertakers and the Environment Agency on matters which they should consider when carrying out their duties in respect of conservation, access and recreation.
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Circular 02/99 Environmental impact assessment, 1999
This circular gives guidance on the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (England and Wales) Regulations 1999-SI 1999 No 293.
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Department of Trade and Industry

Beddington zero (fossil) energy development: toolkit for carbon neutral developments, 2003
A practical guide to producing carbon neutral developments and how to afford them. Based on the achievements at BedZED it describes all the measures taken on the scheme to reduce environmental impact during occupation. Includes technical descriptions, monitoring results, and financial mechanisms that have allowed the innovations at BedZED to become a reality. Also links with the more recent 'ZED in a box' design which represents the next generation of the ZED design and development process incorporating further improvements since BedZED.

Green Books

Diary of an eco-builder, 2006
Will Anderson's monthly features in the Independent newspaper have an enthusiastic following; readers are following his progress from finding a plot, getting planning permission and building himself a stunning contemporary eco home, which mirrors the fine-tuned ecology of a tree. Drawing on his Independent column, Will has created a diary focussing specifically on Environment through the story of his attempt to realise an inspiring and challenging vision. The Energy Saving Trust is using Will's house as a case study and will monitor and evaluate the house to learn from the way it performs.
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Eco-renovation: the ecological home improvement guide, 1999
Shows how you can apply ecological thinking to planning a wide range of home improvements: reduce your heating bills substantially; choose the most energy-efficient appliances; select ecologically benign building materials and finishes; organise the space in your home; protect your family's health from toxic substances in the home. Includes detailed appendices.
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Green Building Press

Green building bible (3rd edition). Volume 1: Essential information to help you make your home and buildings less harmful to the environment, the community and your family, 2006
Subjects covered in detail include: solar power, ecological heating options, energy conservation, insulation, how to make our buildings airtight, choosing eco-building products, healthy homes and how to avoid sick building syndrome, green roofing, painting and decoration, buying an eco-home, grants, waste management and water saving, sustainable garden design and management. There are also reviews on current trends and direction of the green building movement in the UK with hundreds of contacts and further reading suggestions. The book includes a wealth of information on green products and a directory of green building professionals and product suppliers in the UK giving the reader direct access to a wide range of experts with the knowledge and experience necessary to advise or offer guidance.
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Green building bible. 2nd edition (2005/06), 2005
Essential information to help make your home and buildings less harmful to the environment, the community and your family. Covers: material selection; thermal insulation; buying an eco-home; sourcing sustainable timber; natural paints; solar heating; sustainable roofing; air tightness of buildings; healthy homes etc. Also includes extensive guidance and advice on how to obtain grants for renewable energy installations and other environmental initiatives.

Green building bible (3rd edition). Volume 2: In depth technical information and data on the strategies and systems needed to create low energy, green buildings, 2006
Goes beyond the introduction to the green building philosophy and methodologies discussed in volume 1 and provides in-depth design advice for creating real, low energy, sustainable buildings. It provides easily understood explanations of how low energy buildings need to be desaigned and how many of the new eco-technologies such as photovoltaics, heat pumps and fuel cells actually work.
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Green building bible (2003/04), 2003
Essential information to help make your home and buildings less harmful to the environment, the community and your family. Includes a membership list of the AECB in the UK and Ireland.

Hastoe Housing Association

Foundations for the future - part 1: the case for sustainability, 2002
Guide for boards and senior staff of housing associations, setting out the case for sustainability and explaining how associations can take a strategic approach to sustainable development.
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Foundations for the future - part 2: checklists for sustainability, 2002
Guide for all the staff of housing associations, with a suggested process for improving sustainability, illustrated with over 30 case studies.
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John Wiley and Sons

Sustainable construction: green building design and delivery, 2005
Provides a complete introduction to the design and construction of high performance green buildings. By providing a thorough grounding on the subject, the guide encourages you to realize the ecological and economic benefits of green building. Providing a detailed overview of the entire process of green building, Kibert covers the theory, history, state of the industry, and best practices in green building.
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JT Design Build

Green construction handbook: a manual for clients and construction professionals, 1993

Ministry of Defence

Joint services Publication 418 Sustainable development and environment manual, 2005
The purpose of the JSP is to support a framework for the protection of the environment in the MOD, having regard for the globally accepted general principles of environmental protection and sustainable development. This document sets out MOD policy and provides some practical guidance to assist in driving this agenda forward.
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New Holland Publishing

Converting to an eco-friendly home: the complete handbook, 2006
Aimed at the homeowner or professional, it offers many straightforward tips on conserving energy and saving money, from rainwater harvesting to solar panels and insulation.
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New Society Publishers

Your green home: a guide to planning a healthy, environmentally friendly new home, 2006
Written for homeowners planning a new home, this book reviews key issues relating to home location, site design, construction systems, building design to optimise energy performance, renewable energy systems, material selection, indoor environmental quality, and water efficiency.

Your green home: a guide to planning a healthy, environmentally friendly new home (Mother earth news - wiser living series), 2006
Written for homeowners planning a new home, this book reviews key issues relating to home location, site design, construction systems, building design to optimise energy performance, renewable energy systems, material selection, indoor environmental quality, and water efficiency.
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Oxford Paperbacks

Gaia: a new look at life on earth, 2005
Jim Lovelock puts forward his idea that life on earth functions as a single organism. Written for non-scientists, Gaia is a journey through time and space in search of evidence with which to support a new and radically different model of our planet. The book explores the hypothesis that the earth's living matter air, ocean, and land surfaces forms a complex system that has the capacity to keep the Earth a fit place for life.

Princeton Architectural Press

The green house : new directions in sustainable architecture, 2006
Alanna Stang and Christopher Hawthorne have travelled to the farthest reaches of the globe to find all that is new in the design of sustainable, or 'green' homes. The result is more than thirty-five residences in fifteen countries, designed by a combination of star architects and heretofore unknown practitioners including Santiago Calatrava, Shigeru Ban, Miller/Hull, Rick Joy, Lake Flato, Kengo Kuma, Glenn Murcutt, Pugh and Scarpa, Werner Sobek, and many others. Projects are presented with large colour images, plans, drawings, and an accompanying text that describes their green features and explains how they work with and in the environment.
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RICS Foundation

COBRA conference papers Procurement of ethical building and construction products, 2004
Reviews initiatives, organisations and tools that are relevant to ethical procurement of building products.
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Seed Press

Building with hemp, 2006
This is the first book to focus on hemp as a construction material. It describes hemp's history and production, and the ways in which it can be used in the construction or renovation of buildings. With colour photographs and illustrations throughout, the book is as equally of interest to the home owner, architect or interior designer, as it is to the self-builder or ecological activist. Written in a straightforward manner but referring to expert reports and data, the facts and figures for the performance of the hempcrete material (a mixture of hemp-wood and lime) are given together with knowledge gained by the author during his nine years of using the stuff himself. Methods developed by builders and architects in France are described and illustrated, as are examples from Ireland, Great Britain and Switzerland. The basic alternative ways of designing a hemp house by combining timber frames and hempcrete are explained and illustrated with diagrams by the author, as are other systems using blocks or hemp clay mixes
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Spon Press

Green buildings pay. 2nd edition, 2003
Buildings have a major impact upon the world's resources and upon the health of people who occupy them and Green buildings are designed specifically to reduce the level of resources consumed, whether energy, raw materials or water. Examines, through case studies of commercial and university buildings, how different approaches to green design can produce more sustainable patterns of development. Case studies are described by their designers and often also by the client, thereby ensuring that the buildings are seen in the context of market realities. This new edition features new chapters on 'Green' schools covering the importance of school buildings to learning, design guidance for schools and two case studies of best practice.
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Green building handbook, 1997
Provides a reference for environmentally concerned purchasers of building products, with at-a-glance tables for buyers and specifiers. In addition to the technical data and suppliers details, the text will include an overview of the concepts and resulting literature covering this subject, policy thinking, methodology for specifiers, case studies, and a guide to relevant books and organisations.
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Thames and Hudson

New autonomous house, 2000
Brenda and Robert Vale show us the step by step approach they took towards designing and planning to build an autonomous house that would serve as an ideal of sustainability. By meticulously describing the procedure they went through when designing the house, the reader learns that while the abstract concepts such as autonomy and sustainability appear simple to define, the terms become fraught with complexity when applied to a real project.

The Stationery Office

Green design: sustainable building for Ireland, 1997

Transport Research Laboratory

Viridis Publications - Report VR 5 Civil engineering applications of tyres, 2004
Tyres have been used in a number of different applications throughout the world, though potential for their use is just becoming accepted and known in Europe. Tyres have been used in a number of forms of civil engineering applications including; tyre bales for construction, whole tyres for use as landfill cover, tyre shred for use in drainage applications, and tyre crumb for use as aggregate in lightweight cement. This publication reviews potential post consumer tyre uses, the relevant standards and specifications that must be complied with and experience with each application in the UK and elsewhere.
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WWF-UK

One planet living in the Thames gateway, 2003
A WWF-UK One Million Sustainable Homes Campaign Report by the BioRegional Development Group. Uses the Thames gateway region as a case study and investigates the implications of building 200 000 new homes to different environmental standards.
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Ground source heating/cooling

Building Services Research and Information Association

Technical Note TN 18/99 Ground source heat pumps: a technology review, 1999
Provides a detailed, literature-based review of ground source heat pump (GSHP) technology then looks more briefly at applications of the technology, applicable standards and regulations, financial and other benefits and the current market status. The majority of heat pumps currently in operation use air as the heat source, however, interest in using the ground as a source has been growing, stable ground temperatures mean that heat pumps which use the ground as a source are inherently more efficient than those using ambient air. The components of the system, the energy source, the ground collector and the heat pump and how these affect the system performance are discussed in detail.
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Gibbs M Smith Inc

Off the grid homes, 2007
Looks at six contemporary architectural projects that integrate alternative technologies for generating and conserving energy. Being off the grid can refer to many different aspects of energy and resource independence, from rainwater collection, to photovoltaic (PV) systems, to gray-water systems and more. Diagrams and clear explanations of technologies and their appropriate applications are provided alongside the case studies that explain just how the technologies work and how they may best be applied in each situation.
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