The Shape of Green
{{Short description|2012 book by Lance Hosey}}
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| image = File:The Shape of Green.jpg
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| caption = First edition cover
| author = Lance Hosey
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| country = United States
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| genre = Sustainable Design, Architecture, Aesthetics
| publisher = Island Press
| pub_date = 2012
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| media_type = Print
| pages = 216
| isbn = 1-61091-032-X
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The Shape of Green: Aesthetics, Ecology, and Design is a 2012 non-fiction book by the American architect Lance Hosey. The first book dedicated to the relationships between sustainability and beauty, it outlines a set of principles for the aesthetics of sustainable design. It was first published on 1 June 2012 through Island Press.
Synopsis
The book is a critique of conventional standards of sustainable design, which emphasize ethics or technology over aesthetics. Alternatively, Hosey argues that sustainability must include sensory engagement to promote human enjoyment, respect for places, and preservation of resources. The book offers three general principles for an aesthetics of sustainable design:
- Conservation: shaping things to be efficient with resources
- Attraction: shaping things to appeal to human desire
- Connection: shaping things to fit their context
The book shows how these themes apply to any scale of design, including graphics, fashion design, products, buildings, and cities.
Reception
Critical reception has been positive.{{cite journal|title=The shape of green: aesthetics, ecology, and design (review)|journal=Choice Reviews Online|date=2012|volume=50|issue=4|page=50-1859|doi=10.5860/CHOICE.50-1859|doi-broken-date=1 February 2025 }} TreeHugger called it "important" and "significant,"[http://www.treehugger.com/green-architecture/shape-of-green-argument-for-beauty.html Lloyd Alter, TreeHugger, August 7, 2012] and Environmental Building News praised the book as "long overdue."[http://www2.buildinggreen.com/article/shape-green-aesthetics-ecology-and-design Nadav Malin, Environmental Building News, November 29, 2012] Builder magazine wrote that The Shape of Green could "revolutionize what it means to be sustainable."{{cite web|last1=Easey|first1=Claire|title=NOT PRETTY? THEN IT'S NOT GREEN|url=http://www.builderonline.com/design/not-pretty-then-its-not-green_o|publisher=Builder Online|accessdate=20 October 2014}} John Elkington has praised it as "a passionate book" and "an inspirational guide to a future we can't wait to embrace."{{cite web|last1=Elkington|first1=John|title=BEAUTY CAN SAVE THE PLANET|url=http://www.resurgence.org/magazine/article4088-beauty-can-save-the-planet.html/|publisher=Resurgence & Ecologist|accessdate=20 October 2014}} Publishers Weekly also gave a favorable review: "[Hosey's] underlying argument—that green living doesn't have to be punishing, expensive, or boring—is a refreshing take on an old debate that fans of Malcolm Gladwell and other big thinkers will find informative and illuminating."{{cite magazine|title=The Shape of Green: Aesthetics, Ecology, and Design (review)|url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-61091-031-6|magazine=Publishers Weekly|accessdate=20 October 2014}}
= Honors and awards =
- Listed among the books that all designers should read. (2017){{cite web|title=Environmental Building News|url=http://www.dbarchitect.com/images/dynamic/articles/article_rows/attachment//2017_buildinggreen_sustainableliteracy.pdf|accessdate=5 November 2017}}
- National Urban Design Book Award (2014, finalist){{cite web|title=National Urban Design Awards 2014|url=http://www.udg.org.uk/events/london-and-south-east/national-urban-design-awards-2014/|publisher=Urban Design Group|accessdate=20 October 2014}}
- New York Book Show Merit Award (2013){{cite web|title=New York Book Show Awards 2013|url=http://newyorkbookshow.com/portfolio/professional/|publisher=New York Book Show|accessdate=25 August 2016}}
- Notable Design Books, Designers & Books (2012){{cite web|title=Designers & Books 'Notable Design Books of 2012'|url=http://www.designersandbooks.com/blog/notable-design-books-2012/|publisher=Designers & Books|accessdate=25 August 2016}}
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{official website|http://www.shapeofgreendesign.com}}
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0GQONBKQRU Video of Lance Hosey's TED talk on sustainability and beauty]
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Category:American non-fiction books