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The number of ways to green your home grows every year, but Sergi Costi Duran's new book gives you a firm grounding in timeless eco-friendly renovation and building concepts. The environmental preservationist has put together his ideas in Eco House: Practical Ideas for A Greener, Healthier Dwelling. The book is packed with colour illustrations and photographs to help non-architects understand how to put Duran's ideas to use.
- Trent Edwards  Calgary Herald  2010 11 05

As an increase in environmental awareness creates a surplus of green--and "green"--products, confusion persists, particularly about ecologically friendly homes. Luckily, Duran's focus covers both big rooms and small details, so those looking for a tiny shift, and those who want a total home makeover (even homeowners in the actual building process) will benefit from this handsome guide. The gamut is wide: composting, tile coatings, solar cookers, climate control, even building materials like adobe, brick, wood, stone, and beyond. There's even info on how to clean using as few chemicals as possible. What's so enlightening about the book is that it combats "greenwashing" and marketing spin by presenting the complexities of the materials; none are all-good or all-bad ("If you use bamboo...make sure that it comes from forests with controlled felling and replanting processes")... While not a definitive tome on all things green, this is a great starting point to the natural life.
-   Publishers Weekly  2011 02 01

Sergi Costa Duran writes a book that is both eco-friendly and easy to read for the novice fan of environmentally-friendly building design. The book tackles how to design an eco-friendly house and then itemizes all the attendant considerations, such as the pros and cons of various building materials. For those who want to convert their homes into eco-friendly homes, he addresses those issues in the second half of the book. Readers are taken around the world and shown the best ideas for low-carbon impact ideas. The creativity of homeowners and architects is stunning.... Costa Duran's descriptive writing is a pleasure to read. He likens the outside of a building to a "third skin" and tells readers that the home's health depends on the quality of this skin. Instructive diagrams and compelling photos round out the explanations in helping readers understand complex systems in layman terms... Anyone who's contemplating building a new home, or trying to reduce the impact of their current one should read this book.
- Peggy Mackenzie  YourHome.ca  2011 01 28