Fields of Study

Green Building

Is a design and a construction practice that promotes economic health and well-being of your family, the community and the environment. A smart step to personal economic rewards, Green building also has positive social and environmental ramifications that assert your commitment to the future and the way we live for years to come. http://www.greenbuilding.com/


Natural building

A term covers any sort of building that is accomplished with the use of natural materials primarily, as opposed to the use of man-made or industrial materials. www.greenhomebuilding.com

Techniques
Adobe
Bamboo
Cob
Compressed Earth Blocks
Earthbags
Earthen Floors
Earthships
Hybrid Structures
Light Straw-Clay (Leichtlehm)
Hemp and other Fibers
Living Roofs
Natural Plasters and Finishes
Paper Blocks
Rammed Earth
Recycled Building Material
Straw Bale Construction
Thatch
Wattle and Daub
Wood
http://www.strawbalecentral.com/techniques2.html

New Urbanism/ Smart Growth

"Giving more people more choices about how and where they want to live, while providing the solutions to global warming, climate change, and peak oil"

Smart Growth promotes a shift in the conventional development patterns, and reaches out across disciplines. It is surprising the extent to which a wide variety of professionals, elected officials and individuals recognize that the ability to address development challenges and serious contemporary problems is dependent on a new vision of metropolitan and regional cooperation and an interdisciplinary process.http://www.newurbanism.org/index.html

Vernacular Buliding

First used in the 19th centurey before the industrial revolution by architectural theorist refering to rural buildings. -Does not include current styles such as: Mass produced material Middle class home development Industrial building Architecture of fast-food and other commercial franshise (strip malls) http://www.jstor.org/