LIVING HOMES: SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN, by Suzi Moore McGregor and Nora Burba Trulsson, with photography by Terrence Morre; Chronicle Books, 204 pages, $29.95

Due to the popularity of attaining sustainable living environments in today's world, Chronicle Books has issued a paperback version of the 2001 hardback "Living Homes."

The book profiles 22 energy-efficient homes in Colorado, Arizona, California, New Mexico, Texas and Utah that were built using adobe, rammed earth, straw bales or other reconstituted/reinvented materials.

Years ago, when the concept of sustainable living was first introduced, the resulting edifices were more functional than visually appealing. Environmentalists were looking to create a living space out of locally available, energy-efficient materials, built with community-spirited labor. However, architects, builders, interior designers, landscape artists and others were less than thrilled with the visual appeal of the abodes.

Today, the "design community has come to embrace alternative building methods and materials," authors Suzi Moore McGregor and Nora Burba Trulsson write. "And environmental activists have come to realize that an Earth-friendly structure doesn't have to be a Spartan box."

In the book's introduction, architect William McDonough states, "The homes gathered here in this book ... were built by craftspeople, practicing ancient and modern arts, incorporating natural and synthetic technology, working in open air, combining solar power with mass, membrane and transparency. They represent the hope that the human species might use its singular gift of abundant creativity to move from timeful mindlessness toward a timeless mindfulness."

Terrence Moore's architectural photography is better than competent, often it is stunning. Notwithstanding, it is the history and step-by-step explanation of the various building methods that reigns supreme in this book.

The first process we are given to consider is adobe; a building method employed long before the word "adobe" was even introduced into the Egyptian language.

The oldest engineered structures were made of adobe bricks. Even in today's diverse climates and cultures, it is one of the world's most popular building materials.

Rammed earth is the second procedure discussed. This method, which also dates back thousands of years, essentially involves tamping down a moistened soil mixture under high pressure in a rigid box-like form to create a rock-hard wall. This was how the Babylonians, Sumerians and Assyrians built not only their homes, but also their palaces. Even portions of China's Great Wall were built using rammed earth.