jps246's Full Review: Environmental Design & Construction Magazine
Environmental Design & Construction (EDC) is a useful magazine for planning and engineering professionals who are looking for more information and resources on the planning, design and construction of efficient, sustainable and environmentally friendly structures. The magazine’s tag line says it all:
The premier magazine dedicated to efficient and sustainable building
The Basics
EDC is published 11 times a year. The November and December issues are combined in a single product and resource guide issue. For professionals, the magazine is free. You can sign up for a subscription (after filling out a short questionnaire) at www.EDCmag.com. If you are not a professional, there is a cost to the magazine, but honestly, I can’t find it anywhere either in the magazine or on their website. However, it’s not that hard to qualify for a free subscription, and most likely, if you are interested in the topic, you are probably involved professionally somehow that will qualify you for the free subscription. If push came to shove, I suppose you could always “stretch” the truth a bit.
Each issue is around 100 pages or so and about ˝ the magazine is made up of ads. The ads, as you would expect in a magazine of this type, focus on sustainable and green products and services. There is a reader service with EDC so each ad is marked with a number. You can mark the numbers off on a reader service card to request more information from the various vendors.
Each issue is made up of two major sections, the Features and Columns section and the Departments Section.
The Features and Columns section contains two or three columns by regular writers and two or three feature articles (including the cover story). The columns are generally two pages or so and the featured articles can run up to six or seven pages. Generally, they are not too broken up with advertisements and are fairly easy to follow. Stories are written for a generalized professional audience and no one should feel out of place reading through EDC.
The Departments section is made up of several smaller sections including: Editor’s Note; Newsline; Letters; Marketplace; and Advertiser’s Index. The Editor’s Note is your typical Editor’s column and Letters is a collection of reader’s responses to stories and issues. Newsline is a collection of pertinent news from the last month with regards to sustainable design and eco-friendly buildings. Marketplace is a small collection of various vendors offering services and the Advertiser’s Index, located at the end of the magazine, provides an index to the location of each Advertiser’s ad.
Do I want EDC in my in-box?
I cannot imagine anyone getting a personal subscription to this magazine. It is geared for professionals involved in someway in the field. As an Environmental Planner, I find it useful for keeping up-to-date with what is happening in the sustainable design fields. I’ll often be at meetings where ideas, products or terms are thrown around regarding sustainable development and green products, EDC while definitely not a substitution for education, is helpful in staying current with the field.
If you are a planner or engineer that deals with sustainable building, EDC will prove to be useful, otherwise it’s probably not a magazine that you need cluttering up your in-box.
Let me get on that soap box…
While on the topic of sustainable design, construction and buildings, I think that everyone who is involved with the planning, design and construction of infrastructure and buildings should learn as much as possible about sustainable design and green products. Sustainable design, while at times, moderately more costly in the short run, saves money on reduced energy use, reduced water use and reduced waste flows. In addition the buildings are generally more people friendly and provide a better experience to whoever is using the building, compared to more traditional designs. Green buildings are also healthier than traditional buildings – emissions from various products are reduced, air quality is increase and the general health of the building is higher.
If we are going to start saving this earth, we have got to start right down at the bottom and change the way we are designing and building our structures. EDC while no spout of liberal tree hugging, helps us start by mainstreaming efficient and sustainable design and construction.
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