Foreword Preface 1. Reinventing the human-made world to address the sustainability equation 2. Redefining design to include the ecological sciences: The principle of ecocentricity 3. Reinventing the built environment by 'ecomimicry' 4. Ecological Design as the biointegration of a set of 'infrastructures': The 'quatrobrid' constructed ecosystem 5. Nature-based infrastructure - Earth's 'life support system' 6. Hydrological infrastructure 7. Technological infrastructure 8. Anthropocentric infrastructure 9. Being 'at one' with Nature Glossary Bibliography Index
Ken Yeang is an architect, planner and ecologist, best known for his signature ecoarchitecture and ecomasterplans, which are differentiated from other green architects by an authentic ecology-based approach, and by their distinctive green aesthetics, performance and biodiversity, beyond conventional rating systems. He was trained at the Architectural Association School in the UK. He is a pioneer in the field of green design, starting from his doctorate in the 1970s at Cambridge University on ecological design and planning.
"...Yeang’s goal is to restore the broken link between human and
natural systems. Biointegration makes architecture a "prosthetic"
to nature. This aligns Yeang with the idea of ecological
engineering, the hybridisation of the natural and human-made. His
projects, even where they do not reach full potential, are
prototypes, he says, to refine ideas that – for the potency of what
they promise –challenge the design profession at a time when the
restoration of natural systems has a newfound urgency..." - Dr.
Nirmal Kishnani, National University Singapore"Without wildlife
there is no life. Dr. Yeang’s concept of ‘bio-integration’ gifts
people with an invitation to survive on the planet. Dr. Yeang sits
uniquely in the midst of shifting the very concepts of architecture
and sustainable design through ‘ecomimicry’, crucial in showing how
humanity can thrive by emulating and replicating the attributes of
the ecosystems around us". - Dr. James Karl Fischer, Architect and
Zoologist"This is a critical time for our planet, and the design of
the built environment is essential in addressing these challenges.
This book is timely as it centers the debate on the importance of
holistic ecological design." - Ali Malkawi, Professor of
Architectural Technology, Founding Director of Harvard Center for
Green Building and Cities, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA"Ken
Yeang has been a leader in bio-climatic architecture for decades.
His pioneering research and buildings, combining architecture and
nature, have provided inspiration for a generation of architects
and planners concerned with ecology and the future of the built
environment. His latest publication is an eloquent argument for the
role that design, as a form of ‘ecomimesis,’ can and should play in
helping us construct a more resilient and sustainable world." -
Mohsen Mostafavi, Dean, and Alexander and Victoria Wiley Professor
of Design, Harvard University Graduate School of Design"CAN WE
‘SAVE THE PLANET’ by reinventing, redesigning and remaking our
human-made world to be truly resilient and sustainable? This is
arguably the most compelling issue confronting designers given the
current state of impairment of the global environment. Ken Yeang
maintains that preventive action needs to be replaced by an
environmental ‘race and rescue’ mission. Presented here are a set
of ecology-driven design approaches intended to provide a "compass"
for architects, designers, planners, policy makers — and indeed
anyone involved in the human-made world — on how to protect and
restore planet Earth effectively. Approaching design through
‘ecomimesis’— a ‘nature-centric’ idea based on the science of
ecology— Yeang proffers a built environment that harmoniously
integrates the characteristics of natural and semi-natural
ecosystems in a way that combines the characteristics of both to
design a human-made world capable of emulating these attributes.
The call is to strive for an ‘ecotopia’— a world in which human
society and its artefacts co-exist with nature in a dynamic and
harmonious partnership — and in which net positive
socio-environmental consequences are achieved wherever possible.
KEN YEANG trained at the Architectural Association School (UK) and
Cambridge University. He has been awarded Malaysia’s Merdeka Award,
the Malaysian Institute of Architects Gold Medal, and the
Architectural Society of China Liangsicheng Award. He has been a
Council Member of the RIBA, is Distinguished Plym Professor
(Illinois University) and an Honorary Fellow of Wolfson College,
Cambridge University. Ken Yeang articulates a set of design
approaches based on the function and structure of natural and
semi-natural ecosystems that all designers should consider. He
envisages the urban realm dominated by purpose-designed 'hybrid
urban ecosystems' in which designed abiotic and biotic components
interact synergistically to support and restore biodiversity and
support humankind in the long term. It is a passionately expressed
vision addressing an urgent challenge. " - Dr. Michael John Wells
Ecologist & Ecourbanist, Founding Director, Biodiversity by Design
Ltd. "You will learn a new language when you read this book. You
will be drawn into thinking differently about everything around
you. You will, in short, be made "eco-aware" when you finish and
gain, perhaps, an understanding of the impact you have on people
and things around you.What is refreshing about Yeang’s writing is
he is forthcoming about how his learnings have evolved into a way
of consideration of all things made by us, and not made by us. His
writing is poetry in a sense, and poetry has always been quiet
intensity in shaping the way we think and feel about things. As
Ezra Pound put it, literature is "language charged with meaning."
And that’s exactly what Yeang’s book is." - Jim Nowakowski,
President of Interline Creative Group, Inc. in a review on behalf
of KB-Resource.com.
"...Yeang’s goal is to restore the broken link between human and
natural systems. Biointegration makes architecture a "prosthetic"
to nature. This aligns Yeang with the idea of ecological
engineering, the hybridisation of the natural and human-made. His
projects, even where they do not reach full potential, are
prototypes, he says, to refine ideas that – for the potency of what
they promise –challenge the design profession at a time when the
restoration of natural systems has a newfound urgency..." - Dr.
Nirmal Kishnani, National University Singapore"Without wildlife
there is no life. Dr. Yeang’s concept of ‘bio-integration’ gifts
people with an invitation to survive on the planet. Dr. Yeang sits
uniquely in the midst of shifting the very concepts of architecture
and sustainable design through ‘ecomimicry’, crucial in showing how
humanity can thrive by emulating and replicating the attributes of
the ecosystems around us". - Dr. James Karl Fischer, Architect and
Zoologist"This is a critical time for our planet, and the design of
the built environment is essential in addressing these challenges.
This book is timely as it centers the debate on the importance of
holistic ecological design." - Ali Malkawi, Professor of
Architectural Technology, Founding Director of Harvard Center for
Green Building and Cities, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA"Ken
Yeang has been a leader in bio-climatic architecture for decades.
His pioneering research and buildings, combining architecture and
nature, have provided inspiration for a generation of architects
and planners concerned with ecology and the future of the built
environment. His latest publication is an eloquent argument for the
role that design, as a form of ‘ecomimesis,’ can and should play in
helping us construct a more resilient and sustainable world." -
Mohsen Mostafavi, Dean, and Alexander and Victoria Wiley Professor
of Design, Harvard University Graduate School of Design"CAN WE
‘SAVE THE PLANET’ by reinventing, redesigning and remaking our
human-made world to be truly resilient and sustainable? This is
arguably the most compelling issue confronting designers given the
current state of impairment of the global environment. Ken Yeang
maintains that preventive action needs to be replaced by an
environmental ‘race and rescue’ mission. Presented here are a set
of ecology-driven design approaches intended to provide a "compass"
for architects, designers, planners, policy makers — and indeed
anyone involved in the human-made world — on how to protect and
restore planet Earth effectively. Approaching design through
‘ecomimesis’— a ‘nature-centric’ idea based on the science of
ecology— Yeang proffers a built environment that harmoniously
integrates the characteristics of natural and semi-natural
ecosystems in a way that combines the characteristics of both to
design a human-made world capable of emulating these attributes.
The call is to strive for an ‘ecotopia’— a world in which human
society and its artefacts co-exist with nature in a dynamic and
harmonious partnership — and in which net positive
socio-environmental consequences are achieved wherever possible.
KEN YEANG trained at the Architectural Association School (UK) and
Cambridge University. He has been awarded Malaysia’s Merdeka Award,
the Malaysian Institute of Architects Gold Medal, and the
Architectural Society of China Liangsicheng Award. He has been a
Council Member of the RIBA, is Distinguished Plym Professor
(Illinois University) and an Honorary Fellow of Wolfson College,
Cambridge University. Ken Yeang articulates a set of design
approaches based on the function and structure of natural and
semi-natural ecosystems that all designers should consider. He
envisages the urban realm dominated by purpose-designed 'hybrid
urban ecosystems' in which designed abiotic and biotic components
interact synergistically to support and restore biodiversity and
support humankind in the long term. It is a passionately expressed
vision addressing an urgent challenge. " - Dr. Michael John Wells
Ecologist & Ecourbanist, Founding Director, Biodiversity by Design
Ltd. "You will learn a new language when you read this book. You
will be drawn into thinking differently about everything around
you. You will, in short, be made "eco-aware" when you finish and
gain, perhaps, an understanding of the impact you have on people
and things around you.What is refreshing about Yeang’s writing is
he is forthcoming about how his learnings have evolved into a way
of consideration of all things made by us, and not made by us. His
writing is poetry in a sense, and poetry has always been quiet
intensity in shaping the way we think and feel about things. As
Ezra Pound put it, literature is "language charged with meaning."
And that’s exactly what Yeang’s book is." - Jim Nowakowski,
President of Interline Creative Group, Inc. in a review on behalf
of KB-Resource.com.
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