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SOL POWER
THE EVOLUTION OF SOLAR ARCHITECTURE

by Sophia and Stefan Behling
Prestel-Verlag, Munich, Germany, 1996.
240 pp, illus. ISBN 3-7913-1670-2
(in English)

Reviewed by Eva Belik Firebaugh

The scope of Sol Power The Evolution of Solar Architecture by Sophia and Stephan Behling extends beyond what is commonly referred to as solar architecture. In addition to discussing buildings and cities, the authors weave two principal themes through the topics of this book: the potency of cross-fertilization of disciplines, and the necessity for a positive understanding of technology.

Sol Power could be characterized as a "coffee-table" textbook. Its high-quality color images, clear diagrams, magazine like two-page layouts, and the large number of articles make it extremely accessible. The text is limited in depth, but is well researched, impeccably organized, and concise. The authors consider diverse issues ranging from building sustainability to the origins of our aesthetic perceptions.

Sol Power is a publication of the READ Group -- Renewable Energies in Architecture and Design -- an international group of architects "committed to incorporating ecologically sound materials and practices into the architecture of the future." The READ Group charter, included in the book, is endorsed by prominent architects such as Renzo Piano, Richard Rogers, Frei Otto, and Nicolas Grimshaw. Norman Foster, an internationally renowned practitioner of technological architecture, wrote the foreword. The book's publication coincides with the fourth European Conference on Solar Energy in Architecture and Urban Planning, held in Berlin in March 1996.

The book begins with a summary of our present environmental crisis, illustrated through statistics and diagrams. The authors examine the history of humanity in terms of energy consumption. They emphasize that western lifestyles cost us absurd amounts of energy which come from non-renewable resources.

Prior to the Industrial Revolution, buildings and cities had to "cooperate" with harsh climactic conditions, because technology was not advanced enough to dominate the natural environment. The second section of the book illustrates how vernacular architecture varies in relation to its climate. Twelve climactic zones are defined and located on a world map, and the corresponding indigenous buildings are explained in terms of their resistance to undesirable environmental conditions. Each zone includes temperature and precipitation charts, and design principle diagrams. The overview is brief, but succeeds in distilling the nature of each region.

The main body of the book illustrates the history of buildings and cities of several great cultures. Through a chronology highlighting the most notable cultural movements, the authors examine each movement from the viewpoint of the inhabitants' relationship to their environment. The text and images include specific descriptions of climactic conditions and how they are enhanced or controlled, as well as the spiritual or ideological ambitions of each cultural movement. The discussion starts with the Neolithic period and concludes in the present; passing through ancient Egypt and Greece, medieval China and Japan, baroque Europe, post-Industrial Revolution America, and the contemporary world.

In the concluding chapters of the book, the authors urge us to reconsider our understanding of technology. Humanity has developed a technology capable of large scale destruction; however, this same technology can be used positively to analyze and remedy the environmental consequences. The authors stress the significance of economic and political reforms to enhance the feasibility of positive technological changes.

The articles in the last section survey the latest advancements in structural and environmental engineering, energy production, high-performance fabrics, and boat, airplane and space craft design. To improve the performance of buildings, especially with regard to their energy consumption, architects are urged to cooperate with experts in other disciplines. Astonishingly, the authors tell us that buildings account for fifty percent of the energy consumed in Europe. Therefore, the field of building construction alone represents an opportunity for substantial improvement of the global ecological situation.

The tone of Sophia and Stephan Behling's text solicits action without being dogmatic. Sol Power reads like a textbook for an introductory course, but it succeeds in providing a clear overview of issues relevant to energy technology.

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