Eco Living Japan - (Tuttle Specials) by MacDonald (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Eco Living Japan presents the contemporary Japanese homes which best exemplify the recent trends in sustainable design and green architecture in Japan.

Japan is equally as well known for its ecologically-sensitive traditional homes as it is for cutting-edge technology. This book brings you 19 contemporary Japanese houses which epitomize the state of sustainable architecture in Japan. With over 250 high-definition color photos, drawings, and floor plans, alongside lively, informative text, this Japanese design book offers a picture of green living in contemporary Japan and provides inspiration and practical ideas for those creating homes in North America and beyond. Each project presents different aspects of Japan's current movement toward a more environmentally friendly living environment, as well as its world-renowned emphasis on excellent craftsmanship and cutting-edge technology.

Eco Living Japan is informative and enjoyable for both professional architects and designers and forward-thinking homeowners. Anyone with interest in Japanese design or new concepts in sustainable living will find fresh ideas for their home projects. Thanks to a highly insightful text from Deanna Macdonald, a leading expert on Japanese architecture, this book offers a comprehensive look at the Japanese take on green design. It provides new inspiration and ideas for architects and homeowners around the world who wish to create an ecologically-minded home.

These homes work in harmony with the environment and with the people who inhabit them -- representing green design at its finest.

Review Quotes

"... a moveable feast of elegant photography, instructive text and helpful insets that make her book accessible to both the layperson and the professional who may be looking for inspiration and a blueprint for the way forward." -- The Hawai'i Herald

"...the work visits 19 homes to demonstrate how different architectural elements can be blended successfully to create sustainable dwellings that exemplify the Japanese concept of mottainai, loosely translated as 'waste not, want not.'" --Architectural Digest

"Eco Living Japan is a beautiful book filled with ideas and reachable goals to build and renovate with a simple, sustainable focus. This is a book to read over and over again and will certainly be a catalyst for many sustainable projects to come. Prepare to be inspired and awed by the simply beautiful, sustainable designs inspired by Japanese aesthetics." --Portland Book Review

"Accessible and beautiful, Eco Living Japan presents concepts of Japanese house design specialized for modern ecological sensibilities ... Expect it to fuel the growing fandom of home simplicity and efficiency, as well as interest in Japanese traditional design." --Foreword Magazine

"Features include an interesting use of light, different types of wood, asymmetrical designs and balance, and a harmonious mixture of the old and new. This is much more than solar panels on roofs and recycled materials!" --HaikuGirl's Japan blog

"The success of her book would be greatest if, like the last chapter, people reading the book absorbed its ides of eco living and incorporated them into their own living spaces, wherever they may be." --A Daily Dose of Architecture blog

"This book is one more step forward towards a holistic understanding of Sustainable Design. Not as a simple matter of technology, but as a broad civic responsibility: for ecological and economic improvement, for social integration and cultural adequacy." --Jana Revedin, professor of Architecture and Design and Founding President of the LOCUS Foundation for Sustainable Urban Development

"What makes this book so appealing is the simple layout and truly gorgeous photography. Whether covering bathrooms, bedrooms, or classic Japanese tea houses, the book is a lovely coffeetable book (for those non-design folk out there) or a collection of inspiration for those in the design field." --Green Building Elements blog

About the Author

Deanna MacDonald teaches art and architectural history at Temple University's Tokyo campus and writes extensively about Japan's art, architecture and cultural heritage. Her most recent book was New Japan Architecture published by Tuttle.