The Solar House: Pioneering Sustainable Design

The solar house is brought back into the public's awareness with this neat coffee table book illustrating the history of this architectural style. "A distinctly modern concept" dating back to the 1930s, solar houses utilize "passive design" with the goal of harnessing enough energy from the sun to offset heating and cooling bills. Denzer takes readers through the style's history, addressing both successful and failed designs, while focusing on prominent designers such as Fred Keck, Arthur Brown, and Henry N. Wright, as well as engineers like Maria Telkes and George Loef. The text especially comes to life when Denzer scrutinizes the "schism" between architects and engineers and the ways these two professions often fail to compromise, apparently a common occurrence in the industry. While the solar house's value has been proven many times, it remains a footnote in the architectural canon. With growing interest in green architecture, however, this book will hopefully revive interest. While Denzer could've taken greater advantage of the book's coffee table format and included more photographs, he thoroughly documents the history of solar houses in a way that will inform and enlighten architecture enthusiasts. (Apr.)