The Elements of Architecture: Principles of Environmental Performance in Buildings

The Elements of Architecture is a clear and well structured introduction to sustainable architecture, which concentrates on general principles to make an accessible and comprehensive primer for undergraduate students.

The author takes a fresh and logical approach, focusing on the way aspects of the built environment are experienced by the occupants and how that experience is interpreted in architectural design. He works through basic elements and senses (sun; heat; light; sound; air; water and fire) to explain and frame effective environmental architectural design - not only arguing that the buildings we inhabit should be viewed as extensions of our bodies that interact with and protect us from these elements, but also using this analogy to explain complex ideas in an accessible manner.

Scott Drake is a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning and the University of Melbourne, Australia.