Book excerpt: Part green building primer, part architectural photo essay, this is an essential resource for professionals and homeowners interested in the leading edge of environmental building. Imhoff traveled extensively to document and photograph beautiful and novel alternatives to wood intensive-building. Building with Vision is the first book to link residential building with forest impacts. Nearly 1.5 million new houses are built in the United States each year, 90 percent framed with wood, and the average house consuming an acre's worth of trees. But as Building with Vision shows, from framing and siding to new building systems and finish materials, there are many ways architects, contractors, and homeowners can make high-quality, resourceful, long-lasting and beautiful decisions. Details include building techniques as well as materials, including Styrofoam, steel, concrete, straw bales, rammed earth, adobe and much more.