Recognising that buildings are a major contributor to global warming and the critical role of embodied versus operational carbon, the book focuses on houses built from materials that either sequester carbon (plants), use materials with very low embodied carbon (earth and stone) or reuse substantial amounts of existing materials. Organised by those materials (wood, bamboo, straw, hemp, cork, earth, brick, stone and re-use), and incorporating life cycle diagrams demonstrating how the raw material is processed into building components, the book shows how the unique properties of each material can transform the ways architects conceive the sections of houses. The house was selected as the vehicle for these investigations due to its scale, its role as a site of architectural experimentation, and its ubiquity. Building on the techniques of the Manual of Section, the book is comprised of newly generated cross-sectional drawings of 55 recent, modestly sized houses from around the world, making legible the tectonics and materials used in their construction. Each house is also shown through exploded axonometric, construction photographs and colour photographs of the exterior and interior. Introductory essays set up the importance of embodied carbon, the role of vernacular plant-based construction and the problems of contemporary house construction. Drawing connections between the architecture of the house, environmental systems and material economies, the book seeks to change how we build now and for the future.

"It has been a while since I devoured a book on architecture with as much pleasure. I love a good section and I love this book."-Aaron Betsky, Architect Magazine Award-winning architects Paul Lewis, Marc Tsurumaki, and David J. Lewis's essential guide to section. Section, along with plan and elevation, is one of the most important representational techniques of architectural design. Manual of Section is the first book to provide a framework to describe and evaluate this fundamental design process in architecture. Divided into seven categories of section based on extensive archival research: * Range is from simple one-story buildings to complex structures * Features stacked forms, fantastical shapes, internal holes, inclines, sheared planes, nested forms, or combinations of each * Includes sixty-three intricately detailed cross-section perspective drawings of many of the most significant structures in international architecture from the last one hundred years "A must-read for all designers associated with the built environment and should surely be on the library shelves of every architecture, urban design and interior design school...the intricate drawings provided by LTL are sure to inspire all those who have the privilege of cracking the spine of this amazing reference." -Spacing In addition to the incredible cross-section drawings, the book includes smart and accessible essays on the history and uses of section. Manual of Section has become a top architecture book for architecture students and professional architects.