Building Inside Nature's Envelope: How New Construction and Land Preservation Can Work Together
Self-styled "botanical missionaries," the Wasowskis explain how to build a house without disturbing the indigenous landscape. Nationally recognized for their books, articles, and slide presentations, the authors are intent upon spreading the gospel of landscaping with native vegetation. In The Landscaping Revolution (LJ 2/1/00), the Wasowskis denounced the Levittown uniformity of the conventional suburban landscape. In its place, they advocated retaining or reestablishing the native ecosystem, the advantages of which include low maintenance, cost savings, and environmental sustainability. Nature's Envelope is a rewriting of that earlier work but with much greater emphasis on preserving existing native plant life during new construction. The "nature's envelope" philosophy is in tune with trends in rethinking urban and suburban development, articulated most notably in Andres Duany's Suburban Nation (LJ 3/15/00) and James Kunstler's Home from Nowhere (LJ 11/1/96). For offering workable alternatives in nontechnical terms to ecologically minded homeowners, contractors, and architects, the Wasowskis' book is highly recommended for all public libraries. David Solt sz, Cuyahoga Cty. P.L., Parma, OHCopyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.