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Kibert set out to provide a book for professors to use within
their environmental departments; however, what he ends up with is a
wonderful overview of the green building movement from historic
context to future directions. The body of the text describes the
high performance green delivery system with a balance of theory and
practice and guides the reader through the economic and ecological
benefits afforded by green building. This insightful reference will
aid any discipline involved with green building regardless of their
level of experience. LEED® is woven throughout the text for
it’s successes as well as its failures. Green techniques and
technologies are examined not only on how to obtain credits with
green metrics but what the true value of their employment will
yield. Kibert does this through a thorough explanation of not only
what the green practice is but what the practice is designed to
combat. An example would be the chapter on Indoor Environmental
Quality where the various elements that contribute to bad
environmental quality are listed with descriptions of what the
issue is along with potential sources and solutions.
The text is arranged in three parts. Part One: Green Building
Foundations covers the background and history of green building,
various rating systems and green building design. Part Two: Green
Building Systems examines several important subsystems of green
building; siting & landscaping, energy & atmosphere,
building hydrologic cycle, material selection and indoor
environmental quality. Part Three: Green Building Construction,
Economics & Future looks at construction operation,
commissioning, economic issues and future directions. Kibert also
references a Web site, as a companion to support the
readers of his book. The site provides links to relevant
organizations, references, and resources. It’s a good start
but don’t stop there; you can find a wealth of
information online, the majority of which is easily
accessible. This is a great reference that is a must on any green
bookshelf.
Donald Green, AIA, LEED AP, is an Atlanta architect with THW
Design.
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