Architecture and Energy: Performance and Style

Does energy consumption influence architectural style? Should more energy-efficient buildings look different? Can that "look" be used to explain or enhance their performance? Architecture and Energyprovides architects and architectural theorists with more durable arguments for design decisions, arguments based on the evolving culture of design and the role of buildings in everyday life. By drawing together essays from the leading experts in the field, this book engages with crucial issues in sustainable design, such as: The complex cultural process of "reading" and interpreting the signs of architectural energy performance The changing meanings and values of specific indicators How descriptions of style have been taught to policy makers, manufacturers, and the general public as methods to understand and evaluate architecture Drawing on research from the UK, US, Europe and Asia the book outlines the problems surrounding energy and architecture and provides the reader with a considered overview of this important topic.