Architecture in a Climate of Change - A Guide to Sustainable Design. (Do We Deserve to Surviver).

By Peter F. Smith, Oxford: Architectural Press, 2001. [pounds sterling]17.99

There is a plethora of primer-type guides to sustainable architecture, and one might be forgiven in wondering if they are all necessary, not because there is any doubt about the urgency of the message they all convey, but because of sheer duplication. Each may be slightly different in approach, format, balance and so on, but the fundamentals remain constant, as do many of the built examples. Is there anything new in this one, published only a few months ago?

First, a book from an authority such as Peter Smith is welcome and deserves to be read for the amount of information packed into its 200 pages. He begins by questioning whether climate change and our present situation is caused by us or is just part of the natural order of things -- a rhetorical question, but it provides a foundation for the rest of the book. Much of its content has been said elsewhere, but Smith scores by being so up-to-date with new and exciting developments. Her describes where glass technology is going, he sees a bright future in fuel cells, and he is clearly excited by smart materials and the imminent phototonic revolution. 'The end of the world of fossil fuels is at hand and beyond it is the much brighter prospect of the post-hydrocarbon society.' It's great that he is so optimistic.

Is this optimism justified, though? He draws attention to the need to disperse energy production and, like a good portfolio of shares, spread the load out over the many alternative forms of power generation so nearly a practical reality. And yet, we hear hints about a new generation of nuclear reactors. Surely the events of 11 September make this a nonsense, and justify the dispersal approach to energy production if nothing else does. Britain is supposed to be high in the league of energy-saving policy-making. And yet it has been recently announced that energy use in government offices is increasing rather than decreasing due to the growing proliferation of computers and other electrical equipment. Are things really improving, or is it a case of two steps forward and three back?

I don't know the answer and probably I am not alone in this. Despite laudable attempts by many architects -- and despite useful books such as this, even with its optimism -- I doubt that our human race will pull through, or even deserves to.