There are a number of interesting books on each of these topics, highlighting specific concerns in some detail. As for architecture, these topics can be narrowed down to three terms that summarize how we will approach planning and design in the future: Low-Tech Light-Tech High-Tech.‘Low-Tech’means simple building design and maximum use of the natural resources available in the respective environment.‘Light-Tech’suggests that we need to go beyond sim-ply using recyclable building materials and develop buildings that are designed for maximum resource efficiency.‘High-Tech’symbolizes the impact that future information and communication systems will have on architecture...

7 Foreword

8 Point of Departure

10 Taking Stock

Part 1

14 The Path to an Information Society: Basic Principles

15 1 At the End of the Century:

Trends and Demands of the Present

15 1.1 Destruction or Conservation of the Environment?

19 1.2 Resource Consumption or Conservation

22 1.3 Recycling Instead of Single-Use Products

25 1.4 The Worldwide Net and the Virtual Universe

28 1.5 Changing Markets, "New Work"

30 2 The Dissolution of Architecture or Denser Building:

 Scenarios for the Future

30 2.1 Data Highways Instead of Highways, Databanks Instead of Libraries

40 2.2 Compactness Instead of Dissolution

44 3 The Knowledge of Building Masters: Solutions from the Past

46 3.1 Building According to Climate Zones

47 3.2 Environment and Town Structures

52 3.3 Building in Extreme Climate Conditions: Low-Tech Architecture

56 4 Resources in Nature: The Potentials in our Environment

57 4.1 Solar Energy

61 4.2 Wind Energy

64 4.3 Rainfall and Surface Water

67 4.4 Planted Areas

72 4.5 The Energy Potential of the Soil

73 4.6 Daylight

Part 2

75 Sustainable Building: Examples and Ideas

77 5 Living and Working in the Information Age:

  Integrated Building

78 5.1 Living Areas

85 5.2 Working Areas

90 6 Comfortable Rooms - Quality Building

91 6.1 Thermal Comfort

93 6.2 Hygienic Comfort

95 6.3 Acoustic Comfort

96 6.4 Electromagnetic Compatibility

99 6.5 Visual Comfort

100 6.6 The Influence of Colours

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