Sim Van der Ryn - Designs for an Empathic World

Despite an uncertain economy, the market for green building is exploding. The US green building market has expanded dramatically since 2008 and is projected to double in size by 2015 (from $42 billion in construction starts to $135 billion). But green-building pioneer Sim Van der Ryn says, "greening" our buildings is not enough. He advocates for "empathic design", in which a designer not only works in concert with nature, but with an understanding of and empathy for the end user and for ones self. It is not just one of these connections, but all three that are necessary to design for a future that is more humane, equitable, and resilient.

In Design for an Empathic World: Reconnecting People, Nature, and Self ($35.00) Van der Ryn shares his thoughts and experience about the design of our world today. With a focus on the strengths and weaknesses in our approach to the design of our communities, regions, and buildings he looks at promising trends and projects that demonstrate how we can help create a better world for others and ourselves. Architects, urban designers, and students of architecture will all enjoy this beautifully illustrated book drawing on a rich and revered career of a noted leader in their field. The journey described in Design for an Empathic World will help to inspire change and foster the collaboration and thoughtfulness necessary to achieve a more empathic future.
 
Sim Van der Ryn is President of The Ecological Design Collaborative, a design and consulting practice providing comprehensive services though the non-profit Ecological Design Institute established in 1969. Sim has served as California's first energy-conscious State Architect, authored seven influential books, including Ecological Design, and won numerous honors and awards for his leadership and innovation in architecture and planning. He is an adjunct architecture faculty member at the University of California, Berkeley.
 
 

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Design for an Empathic World: Reconnecting People, Nature, and Self By Sim Van der Ryn, Jason McLennan (Foreword by) Cover Image
By Sim Van der Ryn, Jason McLennan (Foreword by)
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ISBN: 9781610914260
Published: Island Press - October 3rd, 2013