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Homing Instinct: Using Your Lifestyle to Design & Build Your Home
"This is the only book to show you how to approach the design and construction of a home that's affordable, durable, environmentally sound, well-sited, beautiful, and, above all, specifically tailored to your needs."
--Michael J. Crosbie, Senior Editor, Architecture magazine (from the Foreword). A uniquely personal, state-of-the-art guide to designing and building a home, Homing Instinct considers not only the roof, but the sky ... not only the placement of plumbing, but where the first light of dawn will enter the building ... not just ease of maintenance, but your home's impact on the planet. Written by leading architect John Connell, founder of Yestermorrow Design/Build School, this richly detailed, forward-thinking book can help you create a house that perfectly expresses who you are physically, emotionally, and spiritually. The only book available that expertly combines both design and construction how-tos, Homing Instinct helps See how things really work, from foundation and framing, to plumbing and electricity, to selecting the right materials and products; Understand the latest construction options; Resolve questions of cost, durability, design, intent, and self-expression; Master architectural fundamentals and effective building techniques.
--Michael J. Crosbie, Senior Editor, Architecture magazine (from the Foreword). A uniquely personal, state-of-the-art guide to designing and building a home, Homing Instinct considers not only the roof, but the sky ... not only the placement of plumbing, but where the first light of dawn will enter the building ... not just ease of maintenance, but your home's impact on the planet. Written by leading architect John Connell, founder of Yestermorrow Design/Build School, this richly detailed, forward-thinking book can help you create a house that perfectly expresses who you are physically, emotionally, and spiritually. The only book available that expertly combines both design and construction how-tos, Homing Instinct helps See how things really work, from foundation and framing, to plumbing and electricity, to selecting the right materials and products; Understand the latest construction options; Resolve questions of cost, durability, design, intent, and self-expression; Master architectural fundamentals and effective building techniques.
- GenresArchitectureDesign
448 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1993
34 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 21, 2014
Really great ideas to be sifted from a verbose, conversational style prose (took 60 pages to say what Building Green said in 3). Insights definitely helpful, and good charts. Despite the rather annoying chit-chat to instruction ratio, it's worth a read for anyone thinking of building their own.
April 14, 2021
A little dated, but helpful in thinking about how you live and what you want your home to be like
December 29, 2012
In the introduction, the author calls this "Your First How-To Book". The book provides very basic information on how to design and build a house. Connell covers how to evaluate your site, how to develop your program, and introduces you to pouring foundations, framing, temperature and moisture control, roof design, door and window design and placement, thermal comfort, energy for power and heating, and plumbing and drainage.
Obviously, in only a bit over 400 pages (including appendices) the book only provides a rudimentary introduction to those topics. However, the author made that decision intentionally. This book does not aim to teach you how to build a house. There are many existing books to do this (Homing Instinct includes a bibliography). Instead, the author wants to accomplish two things. First, set up a framework on which design/builders can hang additional knowledge. Second, show how every aspect of the design/build process influences every other. The site influences the framing system influences the plumbing influences the power sources influences the site and round and around again.
The book succeeds. I do not know how to pour a foundation, but I now know the general features of a well designed foundation and how it influences my home's ability to stay upright. I do not know how to build a frame, but I understand the basic constraints that traditional stick framing puts on structure.
Even though we are not building our house with our own hands, this book was worthwhile. It provided me with a better understanding as I go into the design process, and it provided me with the beginnings of a vocabulary for talking with my builder. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who hopes to be at all involved with designing and building their own home someday.
Obviously, in only a bit over 400 pages (including appendices) the book only provides a rudimentary introduction to those topics. However, the author made that decision intentionally. This book does not aim to teach you how to build a house. There are many existing books to do this (Homing Instinct includes a bibliography). Instead, the author wants to accomplish two things. First, set up a framework on which design/builders can hang additional knowledge. Second, show how every aspect of the design/build process influences every other. The site influences the framing system influences the plumbing influences the power sources influences the site and round and around again.
The book succeeds. I do not know how to pour a foundation, but I now know the general features of a well designed foundation and how it influences my home's ability to stay upright. I do not know how to build a frame, but I understand the basic constraints that traditional stick framing puts on structure.
Even though we are not building our house with our own hands, this book was worthwhile. It provided me with a better understanding as I go into the design process, and it provided me with the beginnings of a vocabulary for talking with my builder. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who hopes to be at all involved with designing and building their own home someday.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews