Courtyard Housing for Health and Happiness

"This is a unique book that traverses a wide range of topics including philosophy, oriental wisdom, psychology, and modern housing design. It aims to answer a central question - how to design a healthy house and a happy home - so practical and yet so eternally important for us all. The study proposes courtyard garden houses as a paradigmatic model. It promotes multiculturalism in architecture and in social life as a whole, which is so central to a new global sensitivity on the rise in North America and elsewhere. In a word, this book has masterfully integrated a range of topics from philosophy to building design, addressed a profound yet practical issue of housing for a healthy and happy life, and promoted cross-cultural thinking so central to a new sensitivity on the rise in the twenty-first century. It is a great book that addresses issues practical yet central to life for everyone - a book everyone should read - for reorganizing your interior, building a new home, debating for a neighbourhood, or simply pursuing harmony in your personal and social life." - Jianfei Zhu, University of Melbourne, Australia

"After a sociable childhood in a Beijing courtyard, Donia Zhang's international studies have led to this insightful publication. Contemporary urbanism separates, rather than joining us together; Zhang shows that courtyards informed by Feng Shui and other timeless guides, can result in sociable, fulfilling, living environments for communities across North America." - Richard Hayward, Emeritus Professor of University of Greenwich, UK

"With this new book, Dr Donia Zhang goes well beyond her earlier studies of courtyard housing in China by first reviewing 20th century courtyard housing developments in North America. Then, at a time of increasing multi-culturalism, she looks forward and confidently predicts that courtyard designs will emerge strong worldwide in the 21st century. Her subject matter ranges widely in promoting a housing form that is both healthy as a structure and happy as a home. This is a book that will be welcomed by architects, planners, and even those contemplating owning a home." - Ronald G. Knapp, State University of New York, New Paltz, USA

"As the book focuses on courtyard houses in the USA and Canada—both countries that are built on the principle of diversity and immigration from different countries—she also elaborates on guidelines and policies for ethnic heritage preservation and the architecture of multiculturalism. Zhang successfully bridges the cultural divide between the ancient-old traditional Chinese way of dwelling with North American forms of living. Her book offers adequate solutions to forms of cohabitation amongst people that foster a stronger sense of physical and social benefits." -Ulduz Maschaykh, McMaster University, Canada