Oikos is a World Wide Web site devoted to serving professionals whose work promotes sustainable design and construction. That's a broad goal, but then environmental sustainability touches virtually every aspect of a building.

Oikos is a greek word meaning house. Oikos serves as the root for two english words: ecology and economy. That may seem contradictory at first, but it makes perfect sense.

Ecology is the science of interactions in natural communities. It examines the web of life where plants, animals, rocks and gases all affect one another. Healthy communities, healthy ecosystems exist in a dynamic equilibrium of nutrient cycles and energy flows. Humans may make massive modifications to their habitats, but we will never remove ourselves from the community.

Economy means thrift and sound management of community resources. What we now call the "Economy" is hardly economical, because it is based on the consumption of natural capital and rampant waste. Economy and ecology are closely linked. Indeed, they will need to be threads of the same fabric if humans are to change direction and become more productive members of the community of Earth.

The Oikos web site is our small contribution toward the weaving of that fabric. We welcome your participation as a member of this community. If you would like to support our efforts, please consider advertising on the site.