• Build as if there were no air conditioning

    “Build as if you had only the sun to warm and the breezes to cool. Entice yourself outside with great outdoor rooms to condition yourself to the local environment so you can throw the windows open most days. On the most extreme days, use small but highly efficient cooling equipment,” advises...Read more

  • Three fundamental errors in architectural thinking and how to fix them

    Identifying mistakes in designers' basic assumptions is a first step to a healthier, more sustainable built environment.
    This article was previously published in Common\Edge . Editor's note: Research by Ann Sussman, Justin Hollander, and Hanna Carr was presented at CNU 26 in Savannah, Georgia, on use of brain and cognitive science to better inform designers about how people perceive and experience their surroundings...Read more

  • The university campus as a microcosm of tradition: Campus design, part 6

    Institutions face a fierce opposition between living campus environments that look old-fashioned, and contemporary architectural expressions, which do not contribute to emotional and physical wellbeing.
    Author’s note: This is the sixth in a series of ten essays that present innovative techniques for designing and repairing a corporate or university campus. These tools combine New Urbanist principles with Alexandrian design methods. The specific form language of buildings, together with the urban...Read more

  • Visionary code protects rural lands

    Preserving open space in a time of rising development pressure, while fostering equitable development, requires out-of-the-box thinking.
    The Rural Area Plan (RAP) for Davidson, North Carolina, uses a form-based code for aggressive rural land conservation. Sixty-five percent of the countryside is preserved over six square miles, allowing for the development of compact hamlets and villages on one-third of the area. The plan was...Read more