problems
pp. 47-48 · Read in the full issue
Books
Hawaii view of energy problems
Hawaii Home Energy Book. By Jim Pearson. Published by the
University Press of Hawaii ,
ISBN 0 8248 0596 8. SUSS. 95.
Jim Pearson is an American ar chitect in Hawaii and the de
signer of an experimental
environment dwelling. In this book he examines in depth the practical means by which con ventional energy consumption in the home can be reduced without sacrificing the material comforts which Americans, and, indeed most of us in the Western World, regard as necessary to our well-being.
I must confess to having been misled by the cover of Home Energy* Book which de picts a traditional Hawaiian thatched house with solar panels on the roof in effect, a grass skirt cover which suggests that someone has come up with ideas for telling the islanders what is good for them.
The contents, however, belie the cover. The whole orien tation of the book is towards modern living and modern lifestyles. For the affluent who are used to affording the luxur ies and who still can, but may not always be able to obtain them from conventional sources, there is a wealth of good information in the book.
Pearson, a former assistant professor of architecture at the University of Hawaii, deals strongly with the subject of dwellings designed to take ad vantage of nature’s energy, sun, wind, and so on. There is no
doubt this is a concept which has enormous potential.
If we can build to trap the sun’s energy for warming space and water in winter and for water heating the year round, insulating for winter warmth and summer coolness, we can
seriously reduce our depen
dence on fossil fuels.
This is basically what Pear son’s Hawaii Home Energy is about. He ranges over a whole
gamut of building techniques
and design oriented towards middle-class standard dwell ings suitable for the tropics, and in fact his ideas could apply to any area favoured with ample sunshine. The book is an extravaganza of freehand
explanatory drawings, which
also give the impression that Pearson may be preaching to islanders with tongue in cheek.
Creditably, he goes to great lengths to tell readers how by planning and careful use the consumption of commodities such as energy and water can be greatly reduced.
The book is good value for the extensive information con tained in its somewhat dis
jointed layout. From a printing
and layout point of view it can only be regarded as a hotch
potch of typefaces with a large
part of it obviously being knocked out on a typewriter.
It’s also commercially oriented with a large block of advertise ments at the back of the book.
It contains 183 pages without the advertising section.
An excellent five-page bibli ography, or as titled. Sugges tions for Further Reading, is
included.