- A Little House of My Own: 47 Grand Designs for 47 Tiny Houses (1987), Lester Walker, ISBN 1579121519 Pictures, elevations and plans for wide variety of tiny houses including Thoreau's famous cabin and George Bernard Shaw's rotating "writing hut".
- A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction (1977), Christopher Alexander, Sara Ishikawa, and Murray Silverstein, ISBN 0195019199 This ageless classic ambitiously attempts to redefine and democratize architecture and design by defining a comprehensible language comprised of 253 interrelated "patterns" for designing and building at any scale. For example, "Light on Two Sides of Every Room"(159) posits that people gravitate to these rooms at least in part because the additional light illuminates minute facial expressions enabling us to better understand one another. For a more theoretical introduction to the underlying philosophies check out The Timeless Way of Building.
- A Place of My Own: The Architecture of Daydreams (1997), Michael Pollan, ISBN 0679415329 Before he convinced readers to re-examine their diets and food in general with books such as The Omnivore's Dilemma, Pollan wrote this entertaining book about his experiences as an amateur builder designing and constructing a small "writing house" in the woods and the influence of culture and nature on the process.
- A Visual Dictionary of Architecture (1995), Frank Ching, ISBN 0442009046 Helpful reference guide that enables me to speak the language. Extensive visuals can be thought provoking.
- Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the way we make things (2002), William McDonough & Michael Braungart, ISBN 0865475873 To be truly sustainable everything we build must be intelligently designed (and manufactured) so it can be continuously reused or totally recycled rather than "downcycled" as generally happens today. Nature provides the perfect model of waste-free efficiency where everything is fully utilized within an ecosystem.
- Humanure Handbook (2005), Joseph Jenkins, ISBN 0964425831 The authoritative book on composting human "waste" and a must read for anyone considering a composting toilet.
- Rural Studio: Samuel Mockbee and an architecture of decency (2002), Andrea Oppenheimer Dean & Timothy Hursley, ISBN 1568982925
- Proceed and be Bold: Rural Studio after Samuel Mockbee (2005), Andrea Oppenheimer Dean & Timothy Hursley, ISBN 1568985002 Mockbee firmly believed architecture needs to be more than an abstract discipline and that it should fully embrace community and environment. He founded the Auburn University Rural Studio where students design and build small, inexpensive, innovative, aesthetically pleasing homes out of salvaged materials for impoverished families in Alabama. Both books include many great photos.
- Home Work: Handbuilt Shelter (2004), Lloyd Kahn, ISBN 9780936070339
- Builders of the Pacific Coast (2008), Lloyd Kahn, ISBN 9780936070438 Lloyd Kahn is a pioneer and cultural icon who published Shelter, Domebook One and Domebook 2 (he later became disillusioned with domes) in the 1970's. I particularly like these later books which both feature many creative homes. A plethora of photos inspire design ideas. Kahn also has an interesting blog, as well as a new book entitled Tiny Homes: Simple Shelter which I have not yet read.
Films
- TINY: A Story About Living Small (2013), Merete Mueller, Christopher Smith A good introduction to tiny homes which includes interviews with a number of tiny home thought leaders.
- Garbage Warrior (2007). Full documentary on YouTube Very inspiring documentary about Mike Reynolds and his "radically sustainable" earthships.
- Frank Lloyd Wright (1998), Ken Burns & Lynn Novick Despite his profound influence on American architecture, Wright's buildings always seemed as if they were designed to showcase his own genius as much as anything else. While this excellent documentary doesn't necessarily dispel that perception, it did leave me with a greater appreciation for Wright. He had deep respect for nature and firmly believed that homes should be designed and constructed to be in harmony with the natural environment (i.e., Fallingwater, Taliesin, Taliesin West). And, he could build small as evidenced by his Usonian houses.
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