Ecohouse 2: A Design Guide

Ecohouse 2 tells you how to design low energy, environmentally friendly buildings. It provides the foundations for building design in a warming world, and shows how to take the first step towards the zero-carbon emission buildings of tomorrow.


Sue Roaf is famed for her approach to design and her awareness of energy efficiency. Here she reveals the concepts, structures and techniques that lie behind the realization of her ideals. By using her own house as a case-study Roaf guides the reader through the ideas for energy efficient design or 'eco design'.

This second edition, a follow up to the best selling original, introduces new sections including earth sheltering and reed beds. It also explores 24 case-studies of ecohouses from around the world. It is an ideal comprehensive reference for architects, designers and their clients, as well as self builders, who wish to help make sustainable design a reality.

Having been brought up in Malaysia and Australia, Sue studied at Manchester University, the Architectural Association, and Oxford Brookes University. She spent 10 years in Iraq and Iran, studying building technologies, practising as a landscape architect and teaching at Baghdad University. In 1990 she was appointed as the professional Training Adviser for the Oxford School of Architecture. In 1995 she designed and built her own Ecohouse in North Oxford with the first roof integrated PV roof in the UK and many other special features - the roof provides more electricity than the house uses, over an annual period. She is widely published in many fields and is currently Professor of Architecture at Oxford Brookes University. Her current research interests include photovoltaics, sustainable tourism, water conservation and climate change.