Author: Vladimir Jovanović
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3658241659
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 124
Book Description
The aim of this textbook is to improve conventional building design in Southeast Europe. This is done with proposing conceptual guidelines for designing energy-efficient buildings for different geographic regions of Serbia. The focus is on climate-appropriate design of building envelopes. To adress sustainability, economical, environmental and social aspects are evaluated. The body is divided into three main chapters: traditional houses, the existing housing stock, and design patterns for future buildings. The conclusions and the methodology can be applied in the rest of Southeast Europe, since Serbia has a unique position in the middle of the region, covering different geographical areas that spread far out of Serbia’s borders.
Energy-efficient building design in Southeast Europe
Author: Vladimir Jovanović
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3658241659
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 124
Book Description
The aim of this textbook is to improve conventional building design in Southeast Europe. This is done with proposing conceptual guidelines for designing energy-efficient buildings for different geographic regions of Serbia. The focus is on climate-appropriate design of building envelopes. To adress sustainability, economical, environmental and social aspects are evaluated. The body is divided into three main chapters: traditional houses, the existing housing stock, and design patterns for future buildings. The conclusions and the methodology can be applied in the rest of Southeast Europe, since Serbia has a unique position in the middle of the region, covering different geographical areas that spread far out of Serbia’s borders.
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3658241659
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 124
Book Description
The aim of this textbook is to improve conventional building design in Southeast Europe. This is done with proposing conceptual guidelines for designing energy-efficient buildings for different geographic regions of Serbia. The focus is on climate-appropriate design of building envelopes. To adress sustainability, economical, environmental and social aspects are evaluated. The body is divided into three main chapters: traditional houses, the existing housing stock, and design patterns for future buildings. The conclusions and the methodology can be applied in the rest of Southeast Europe, since Serbia has a unique position in the middle of the region, covering different geographical areas that spread far out of Serbia’s borders.
European Directory of Sustainable and Energy Efficient Building 1999
Author: John Goulding
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134258461
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 257
Book Description
This directory has become a valued source of information for energy-efficient building designers and specifiers throughout Europe and the details and scope of product, service and supplier listings have again been extensively updated for this edition.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134258461
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 257
Book Description
This directory has become a valued source of information for energy-efficient building designers and specifiers throughout Europe and the details and scope of product, service and supplier listings have again been extensively updated for this edition.
Integrative Approach to Comprehensive Building Renovations
Author: Vesna Žegarac Leskovar
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3030114767
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 164
Book Description
This book presents a new approach to building renovation, combining aspects of various professional disciplines, integrating green building design, structural stability, and energy efficiency. It draws attention to several often-overlooked qualities of buildings that should be comprehensively integrated into the context of building renovation. The book presents an overview of the most important renovation approaches according to their scope, intensity, and priorities. Combining basic theoretical knowledge and the authors’ scientific research it emphasizes the importance of simultaneous consideration of energy efficiency and structural stability in building renovation processes. It simultaneously analyses the effects of various renovation steps related to the required level of energy efficiency, while it also proposes the options of building extension with timber-glass upgrade modules as the solution to a shortage of usable floor areas occurring in large cities. This book offers building designers and decision makers a tool for predicting energy savings in building renovation processes and provides useful guidelines for architects, city developers and students studying architecture and civil engineering. Additionally, it demonstrates how specific innovations, e.g., building extensions with timber-glass modules, can assist building industry companies in the planning and development of their future production. The main aim of the current book is to expose various approaches to the renovation of existing buildings and to combine practical experience with existing research, in order to disseminate knowledge and raise awareness on the importance of integrative and interdisciplinary solutions.
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3030114767
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 164
Book Description
This book presents a new approach to building renovation, combining aspects of various professional disciplines, integrating green building design, structural stability, and energy efficiency. It draws attention to several often-overlooked qualities of buildings that should be comprehensively integrated into the context of building renovation. The book presents an overview of the most important renovation approaches according to their scope, intensity, and priorities. Combining basic theoretical knowledge and the authors’ scientific research it emphasizes the importance of simultaneous consideration of energy efficiency and structural stability in building renovation processes. It simultaneously analyses the effects of various renovation steps related to the required level of energy efficiency, while it also proposes the options of building extension with timber-glass upgrade modules as the solution to a shortage of usable floor areas occurring in large cities. This book offers building designers and decision makers a tool for predicting energy savings in building renovation processes and provides useful guidelines for architects, city developers and students studying architecture and civil engineering. Additionally, it demonstrates how specific innovations, e.g., building extensions with timber-glass modules, can assist building industry companies in the planning and development of their future production. The main aim of the current book is to expose various approaches to the renovation of existing buildings and to combine practical experience with existing research, in order to disseminate knowledge and raise awareness on the importance of integrative and interdisciplinary solutions.
Aspects of the Energy Union
Author: Michalis Mathioulakis
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030559815
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 346
Book Description
This book provides a comprehensive exploration of some of the most critical issues regarding the EU’s Energy Union policy. Applied European energy policies face a number of challenges ranging from the geopolitics of energy and energy regulation, to climate change, advancing renewable and gas technologies, and consumer empowerment structures. This book takes a multi-dimensional look into some of these vital issues regarding the European energy sector with a special focus on the effects the Energy Union policy has in two sensitive regional systems, Southeastern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean. Energy, being by definition a multi-disciplinary field, presents a challenge for readers of any specific disciplinary background that need to grasp an overall understanding of the various aspects of this exciting sector. This book’s objective is to offer the opportunity for readers to get a quality, hands-on overview of the Energy Union by the professionals and academics that interact with it on a daily basis.
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030559815
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 346
Book Description
This book provides a comprehensive exploration of some of the most critical issues regarding the EU’s Energy Union policy. Applied European energy policies face a number of challenges ranging from the geopolitics of energy and energy regulation, to climate change, advancing renewable and gas technologies, and consumer empowerment structures. This book takes a multi-dimensional look into some of these vital issues regarding the European energy sector with a special focus on the effects the Energy Union policy has in two sensitive regional systems, Southeastern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean. Energy, being by definition a multi-disciplinary field, presents a challenge for readers of any specific disciplinary background that need to grasp an overall understanding of the various aspects of this exciting sector. This book’s objective is to offer the opportunity for readers to get a quality, hands-on overview of the Energy Union by the professionals and academics that interact with it on a daily basis.
Managing Cultural Heritage Sites in Southeastern Europe
Author: Janez Nared
Publisher: Založba ZRC
ISBN: 9612547076
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 130
Book Description
The CHERPLAN project (CHERPLAN stands for “Enhancement of Cultural Heritage through Environmental Planning and Management") aims to provide a strong basis for ensuring compatibility and synergy between cultural heritage conservation and socioeconomic growth by fostering the adoption of a modern environmental planning approach throughout southeast Europe (SEE). The aim of environmental planning is to integrate traditional urban/spatial planning with the concerns of environmentalism to ensure sustainable development; when innovatively applied to cultural heritage sites, environmental planning’s comprehensive perspective can be regarded as composed of three spheres: the built and historical environment, the socioeconomic and cultural environment, and the biophysical environment. In this regard, this publication, as one of the results of the CHERPLAN project, addresses vital parts of cultural heritage management. It provides the basic framework defined by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), and guidelines for twenty specific management issues composed of a thematic introduction, recommendations, and good-practice examples. Thus, the publication provides practical information on the application of environmental planning in SEE, some of it developed within CHERPLAN pilot projects and some of it defined through the experiences of other cultural heritage sites. In both cases, recommendations and good-practice examples present local traditional knowledge and experience that has been developed through successful management practices in the past. The publication aims to assist cultural heritage site managers in their everyday decisions by supporting them with firm technical knowledge and specific instructions on how to react in a given situation. In this regard, it could support the recently issued World Heritage Resource Manual on Managing Cultural World Heritage, which was published by UNESCO in November 2013. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Knjiga Upravljanje območij s kulturno dediščino v Jugovzhodni Evropi, kot eden od rezultatov projekta CHERPLAN, naslavlja ključna vprašanja upravljanja območij s kulturno dediščino. Predstavlja osnovni okvir, ki sta ga na tem področju izoblikovala Unesco in ICOMOS, ter usmeritve za dvajset različnih izzivov upravljanja, kjer vsakega pospremimo z uvodom, priporočili in primeri dobrih praks. Knjiga tako zagotavlja praktične informacije za uveljavljanje okoljskega planiranja na območjih s kulturno dediščino v Jugovzhodni Evropi, pri čemer je bil del priporočil pripravljen znotraj pilotnih območij, del pa smo jih prevzeli od drugje. V obeh primerih predstavljajo priporočila in dobre prakse preverjena lokalna znanja, saj so jih v opisanih primerih uspešno uporabili. Projekt CHERPLAN – Krepitev kulturne dediščine z okoljskim načrtovanjem in upravljanjem – je bil namenjen zagotavljanju sinergij med ohranjanjem kulturne dediščine in družbenoekonomskim razvojem, s posebnim poudarkom na razvoju in uporabi okolju prijaznih skupnih pristopov in novih tehnik v načrtovanju in upravljanju območij s kulturno dediščino v Jugovzhodni Evropi. Običajno se na tovrstnih območjih pojavlja navzkrižje interesov med sistemom zaščite kulturne dediščine, ki lokalnemu okolju postavlja določene omejitve, ter potrebo lokalnega okolja po razvoju in modernizaciji. Namen projekta je bil tako tradicionalne načine planiranja nadgraditi z okoljskimi elementi ter na ta način zagotavljati celostno načrtovanje območij s kulturno dediščino. Knjiga je namenjena upravljavcem območij s kulturno dediščino in naj bi jim pomagala pri vsakodnevnih odločitvah s tehničnim znanjem in praktičnimi nasveti, kako se odzvati v konkretni situaciji. Tako lahko knjiga dopolnjuje leta 2013 izdani priročnik Unesca o upravljanju območij s kulturno dediščino (World Heritage Resource Manual on Managing Cultural World Heritage).
Publisher: Založba ZRC
ISBN: 9612547076
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 130
Book Description
The CHERPLAN project (CHERPLAN stands for “Enhancement of Cultural Heritage through Environmental Planning and Management") aims to provide a strong basis for ensuring compatibility and synergy between cultural heritage conservation and socioeconomic growth by fostering the adoption of a modern environmental planning approach throughout southeast Europe (SEE). The aim of environmental planning is to integrate traditional urban/spatial planning with the concerns of environmentalism to ensure sustainable development; when innovatively applied to cultural heritage sites, environmental planning’s comprehensive perspective can be regarded as composed of three spheres: the built and historical environment, the socioeconomic and cultural environment, and the biophysical environment. In this regard, this publication, as one of the results of the CHERPLAN project, addresses vital parts of cultural heritage management. It provides the basic framework defined by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), and guidelines for twenty specific management issues composed of a thematic introduction, recommendations, and good-practice examples. Thus, the publication provides practical information on the application of environmental planning in SEE, some of it developed within CHERPLAN pilot projects and some of it defined through the experiences of other cultural heritage sites. In both cases, recommendations and good-practice examples present local traditional knowledge and experience that has been developed through successful management practices in the past. The publication aims to assist cultural heritage site managers in their everyday decisions by supporting them with firm technical knowledge and specific instructions on how to react in a given situation. In this regard, it could support the recently issued World Heritage Resource Manual on Managing Cultural World Heritage, which was published by UNESCO in November 2013. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Knjiga Upravljanje območij s kulturno dediščino v Jugovzhodni Evropi, kot eden od rezultatov projekta CHERPLAN, naslavlja ključna vprašanja upravljanja območij s kulturno dediščino. Predstavlja osnovni okvir, ki sta ga na tem področju izoblikovala Unesco in ICOMOS, ter usmeritve za dvajset različnih izzivov upravljanja, kjer vsakega pospremimo z uvodom, priporočili in primeri dobrih praks. Knjiga tako zagotavlja praktične informacije za uveljavljanje okoljskega planiranja na območjih s kulturno dediščino v Jugovzhodni Evropi, pri čemer je bil del priporočil pripravljen znotraj pilotnih območij, del pa smo jih prevzeli od drugje. V obeh primerih predstavljajo priporočila in dobre prakse preverjena lokalna znanja, saj so jih v opisanih primerih uspešno uporabili. Projekt CHERPLAN – Krepitev kulturne dediščine z okoljskim načrtovanjem in upravljanjem – je bil namenjen zagotavljanju sinergij med ohranjanjem kulturne dediščine in družbenoekonomskim razvojem, s posebnim poudarkom na razvoju in uporabi okolju prijaznih skupnih pristopov in novih tehnik v načrtovanju in upravljanju območij s kulturno dediščino v Jugovzhodni Evropi. Običajno se na tovrstnih območjih pojavlja navzkrižje interesov med sistemom zaščite kulturne dediščine, ki lokalnemu okolju postavlja določene omejitve, ter potrebo lokalnega okolja po razvoju in modernizaciji. Namen projekta je bil tako tradicionalne načine planiranja nadgraditi z okoljskimi elementi ter na ta način zagotavljati celostno načrtovanje območij s kulturno dediščino. Knjiga je namenjena upravljavcem območij s kulturno dediščino in naj bi jim pomagala pri vsakodnevnih odločitvah s tehničnim znanjem in praktičnimi nasveti, kako se odzvati v konkretni situaciji. Tako lahko knjiga dopolnjuje leta 2013 izdani priročnik Unesca o upravljanju območij s kulturno dediščino (World Heritage Resource Manual on Managing Cultural World Heritage).
Sustainable Consumption and Production in South East Europe and Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia
Author: European Environment Agency
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Asia, Central
Languages : en
Pages : 194
Book Description
Recoge: 1 Background, scope and methodology - 2 Broad trends in production and consumption - 3 Policies supporting SCP - 4 Industry - 5 Food - 6 Buildings - 7 Transport - 8 Waste - 9 Way forward - Annex 1 Responses to the questionnaire survey on policies on sustainable consumption and production
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Asia, Central
Languages : en
Pages : 194
Book Description
Recoge: 1 Background, scope and methodology - 2 Broad trends in production and consumption - 3 Policies supporting SCP - 4 Industry - 5 Food - 6 Buildings - 7 Transport - 8 Waste - 9 Way forward - Annex 1 Responses to the questionnaire survey on policies on sustainable consumption and production
Improving Energy Efficiency in Commercial Buildings and Smart Communities
Author: Paolo Bertoldi
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030314596
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 251
Book Description
These proceedings present fourteen peer-reviewed papers from the 10th International Conference on Improving Energy Efficiency in Commercial Buildings and Smart Communities, which was held March 21-22, 2018 in Frankfurt, Germany. This biannual conference aims to promote and diffuse the concept of energy efficiency in new and existing commercial buildings and to enlarge the market for low consumption and sustainable non-residential buildings. It also covers smart and sustainable districts, communities and cities, since energy systems efficiency and renewable energies are often optimized at the district or municipal level. The 2018 conference focused on advanced and innovative technologies to improve the energy efficiency of commercial buildings, communities and cities as well as the policies and measures by governments at various levels to improve energy efficiency. A particular focus was on Energy Service Companies (ESCOs). The conference addresses energy policy makers at international, national, and local level; academics, researchers and energy efficiency experts; ESCOs, utilities, buildings energy and environmental managers; buildings engineers and architects; and equipment manufacturers and commercial property investors.
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030314596
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 251
Book Description
These proceedings present fourteen peer-reviewed papers from the 10th International Conference on Improving Energy Efficiency in Commercial Buildings and Smart Communities, which was held March 21-22, 2018 in Frankfurt, Germany. This biannual conference aims to promote and diffuse the concept of energy efficiency in new and existing commercial buildings and to enlarge the market for low consumption and sustainable non-residential buildings. It also covers smart and sustainable districts, communities and cities, since energy systems efficiency and renewable energies are often optimized at the district or municipal level. The 2018 conference focused on advanced and innovative technologies to improve the energy efficiency of commercial buildings, communities and cities as well as the policies and measures by governments at various levels to improve energy efficiency. A particular focus was on Energy Service Companies (ESCOs). The conference addresses energy policy makers at international, national, and local level; academics, researchers and energy efficiency experts; ESCOs, utilities, buildings energy and environmental managers; buildings engineers and architects; and equipment manufacturers and commercial property investors.
Materials for Energy Efficiency and Thermal Comfort in Buildings
Author: Matthew R Hall
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 1845699270
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 761
Book Description
Almost half of the total energy produced in the developed world is inefficiently used to heat, cool, ventilate and control humidity in buildings, to meet the increasingly high thermal comfort levels demanded by occupants. The utilisation of advanced materials and passive technologies in buildings would substantially reduce the energy demand and improve the environmental impact and carbon footprint of building stock worldwide.Materials for energy efficiency and thermal comfort in buildings critically reviews the advanced building materials applicable for improving the built environment. Part one reviews both fundamental building physics and occupant comfort in buildings, from heat and mass transport, hygrothermal behaviour, and ventilation, on to thermal comfort and health and safety requirements.Part two details the development of advanced materials and sustainable technologies for application in buildings, beginning with a review of lifecycle assessment and environmental profiling of materials. The section moves on to review thermal insulation materials, materials for heat and moisture control, and heat energy storage and passive cooling technologies. Part two concludes with coverage of modern methods of construction, roofing design and technology, and benchmarking of façades for optimised building thermal performance.Finally, Part three reviews the application of advanced materials, design and technologies in a range of existing and new building types, including domestic, commercial and high-performance buildings, and buildings in hot and tropical climates.This book is of particular use to, mechanical, electrical and HVAC engineers, architects and low-energy building practitioners worldwide, as well as to academics and researchers in the fields of building physics, civil and building engineering, and materials science. - Explores improving energy efficiency and thermal comfort through material selection and sustainable technologies - Documents the development of advanced materials and sustainable technologies for applications in building design and construction - Examines fundamental building physics and occupant comfort in buildings featuring heat and mass transport, hygrothermal behaviour and ventilation
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 1845699270
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 761
Book Description
Almost half of the total energy produced in the developed world is inefficiently used to heat, cool, ventilate and control humidity in buildings, to meet the increasingly high thermal comfort levels demanded by occupants. The utilisation of advanced materials and passive technologies in buildings would substantially reduce the energy demand and improve the environmental impact and carbon footprint of building stock worldwide.Materials for energy efficiency and thermal comfort in buildings critically reviews the advanced building materials applicable for improving the built environment. Part one reviews both fundamental building physics and occupant comfort in buildings, from heat and mass transport, hygrothermal behaviour, and ventilation, on to thermal comfort and health and safety requirements.Part two details the development of advanced materials and sustainable technologies for application in buildings, beginning with a review of lifecycle assessment and environmental profiling of materials. The section moves on to review thermal insulation materials, materials for heat and moisture control, and heat energy storage and passive cooling technologies. Part two concludes with coverage of modern methods of construction, roofing design and technology, and benchmarking of façades for optimised building thermal performance.Finally, Part three reviews the application of advanced materials, design and technologies in a range of existing and new building types, including domestic, commercial and high-performance buildings, and buildings in hot and tropical climates.This book is of particular use to, mechanical, electrical and HVAC engineers, architects and low-energy building practitioners worldwide, as well as to academics and researchers in the fields of building physics, civil and building engineering, and materials science. - Explores improving energy efficiency and thermal comfort through material selection and sustainable technologies - Documents the development of advanced materials and sustainable technologies for applications in building design and construction - Examines fundamental building physics and occupant comfort in buildings featuring heat and mass transport, hygrothermal behaviour and ventilation
Cost-Effective Energy Efficient Building Retrofitting
Author: F. Pacheco-Torgal
Publisher: Woodhead Publishing
ISBN: 0081012276
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 633
Book Description
Cost-Effective Energy Efficient Building Retrofitting:Materials, Technologies, Optimization and Case Studies provides essential knowledge for civil engineers, architects, and other professionals working in the field of cost-effective energy efficient building retrofitting. The building sector is responsible for high energy consumption and its global demand is expected to grow as each day there are approximately 200,000 new inhabitants on planet Earth. The majority of electric energy will continue to be generated from the combustion of fossil fuels releasing not only carbon dioxide, but also methane and nitrous oxide. Energy efficiency measures are therefore crucial to reduce greenhouse gas emissions of the building sector. Energy efficient building retrofitting needs to not only be technically feasible, but also economically viable. New building materials and advanced technologies already exist, but the knowledge to integrate all active components is still scarce and far from being widespread among building industry stakeholders. - Emphasizes cost-effective methods for the refurbishment of existing buildings, presenting state-of-the-art technologies - Includes detailed case studies that explain various methods and Net Zero Energy - Explains optimal analysis and prioritization of cost effective strategies
Publisher: Woodhead Publishing
ISBN: 0081012276
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 633
Book Description
Cost-Effective Energy Efficient Building Retrofitting:Materials, Technologies, Optimization and Case Studies provides essential knowledge for civil engineers, architects, and other professionals working in the field of cost-effective energy efficient building retrofitting. The building sector is responsible for high energy consumption and its global demand is expected to grow as each day there are approximately 200,000 new inhabitants on planet Earth. The majority of electric energy will continue to be generated from the combustion of fossil fuels releasing not only carbon dioxide, but also methane and nitrous oxide. Energy efficiency measures are therefore crucial to reduce greenhouse gas emissions of the building sector. Energy efficient building retrofitting needs to not only be technically feasible, but also economically viable. New building materials and advanced technologies already exist, but the knowledge to integrate all active components is still scarce and far from being widespread among building industry stakeholders. - Emphasizes cost-effective methods for the refurbishment of existing buildings, presenting state-of-the-art technologies - Includes detailed case studies that explain various methods and Net Zero Energy - Explains optimal analysis and prioritization of cost effective strategies
Energy Efficient Building Design
Author: Ana-Maria Dabija
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030406717
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 281
Book Description
This book is the result of recent research that deals with the built environment and innovative materials, carried out by specialists working in universities and centers of research in different professional fields ─ architecture, engineering, physics ─ and in an area that that spans from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf, and from South Eastern Europe to the Middle East. This book takes the necessity of re-shaping the concept of building design in order to transform buildings from large scale energy consumers to energy savers and producers into consideration. The book is organized in two parts: theory and case studies. For the theoretical part, we chose from the wide range of sources that provide energy efficient materials and systems the two that seem to be endless: the sun and vegetation. Their use in building products represents a tool for specialists in the architectural design concept. The case-studies presented analyze different architectural programs, in different climates, from new buildings to rehabilitation approaches and from residential architecture to hospitals and sports arenas; each case emphasizes the interdisciplinarity of the building design activity in order to help readers gain a better understanding of the complex approach needed for energy efficient building design
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030406717
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 281
Book Description
This book is the result of recent research that deals with the built environment and innovative materials, carried out by specialists working in universities and centers of research in different professional fields ─ architecture, engineering, physics ─ and in an area that that spans from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf, and from South Eastern Europe to the Middle East. This book takes the necessity of re-shaping the concept of building design in order to transform buildings from large scale energy consumers to energy savers and producers into consideration. The book is organized in two parts: theory and case studies. For the theoretical part, we chose from the wide range of sources that provide energy efficient materials and systems the two that seem to be endless: the sun and vegetation. Their use in building products represents a tool for specialists in the architectural design concept. The case-studies presented analyze different architectural programs, in different climates, from new buildings to rehabilitation approaches and from residential architecture to hospitals and sports arenas; each case emphasizes the interdisciplinarity of the building design activity in order to help readers gain a better understanding of the complex approach needed for energy efficient building design