Big & Green: Toward Sustainable Architecture in the 21st Century

Edited by David Gissen. Princeton Architectural Press, New York, and National Building Museum, Washington, D.C., 2002. Hardcover, 192 pages, $40

Big & Green: Toward Sustainable Architecture in the 21st Century, a bound version of the museum exhibition of the same name, currently showing in Washington, D.C. Edited by David Gissen, the museum’s curator of architecture and design, the book documents recent green developments in the design of large projects, such as skyscrapers, shopping complexes, and convention centers.

A preface by sustainability celeb William McDonough, and contributions from luminaries including James Wines, Kenneth Yeang, and William Browning lend star quality to the book. The lead roles, though, are filled by projects—50 built and unbuilt projects are highlighted for their innovations in “Energy,” “Light & Air,” “Greenery, Water & Waste,” “Construction,” and “Urbanism.”

Each project occupies a two-page spread in the book, including a brief description; key design team members; bulleted list of green highlights; and generous photographs, drawings, and computer-simulation images. Lacking are stories behind the designs, details on strategies employed, and solid performance statistics. In its defense,

Big & Green was not intended as a comprehensive evaluation of these particular projects, nor of the larger green building movement. It serves, rather, as documentation—a “green building was here” notice along the architectural timeline.

Big & Green’s glossary will orient readers relatively unfamiliar with the field, and a limited bibliography points toward more thorough resources. The book leaves much of its own treasure buried, however, and many of its readers wanting for an index and a more useful table of contents.

– JB