Book excerpt: This book meets the needs for a basic, yet comprehensive and up-to-date, introductory text to building technology for students in architecture and the other disciplines in building design. The wide coverage is organised under the chapter headings: structure, enclosure, climate services, utility services, lighting, acoustics, fire safety, the future? The treatment in each case is concentrated on the close relationship between good design practice and the basic underlying scientific and practical principles, but stopping short of the high level theory which is to be found in other more closely specialised texts.This well illustrated and highly readable book will be invaluable to the student and of interest to the practitioner too, both in architecture and in its related technical fields.