Architecture From Prehistory To Climate Emergency

Architecture: From Prehistory to Climate Emergency reinterprets 15,000 years of world architecture through a single lens: energy. Barnabas Calder shows how access to fire, agriculture, human labour, fossil fuels, and electricity shaped everything from prehistoric shelters and Roman monuments to Victorian cities, skyscrapers, and contemporary megacities. The book argues that buildings are central to the climate crisis: their construction and operation account for roughly 39–40% of global greenhouse-gas emissions. Calder makes a case for low-energy design, thoughtful reuse, and retrofitting existing buildings rather than demolition and carbon-intensive replacement.