June 07

- ARCHITECTURE + NATURE -

Vastuworld Healthy Design Series: Guidelines for true Architecture :Module3: >

Architecture and Nature.

It is my feeling that living things and non-living things are dichotomus…
But I feel that if all living plants and creatures were to disappear, the sun would still shine and the rain still fall. We need Nature, But Nature does not need us.- Louis Kahn.

Responsive and Responsible :
Humans and all their associated artifacts are an immutable fact in nature. If we accept the definition of sustainability as “the triple bottom line” (i.e. the three E's of “economy, ecology, equity”

Architecture and Environment :
Sensitive architectural solutions should respect and celebrate the environment.
This includes an appreciation for the local (geographies, bio regions, seasons, micro-climates, etc.)

Architecture and Landscape:
Place-making is essential in the creation of meaningful architecture, no matter what the scale. .

Architecture and it's Inhabitants :

Even the best sustainable designed environment will not be useful unless it elicits “delight” in its users.
Creating spaces that allow people to experience joy, health, comfort, and well-being is essential. Exploring material tactility, thermal delight, and inspiring luminous environments are a few of many methods to this end, moving toward a multi-sensory architecture.

Architecture and Materiality

Materials are the basic building blocks of an architect's language. Exploring the poetic potential of structure and materiality is the goal here. Further, it is our responsibility to understand the pivotal cradle-to-grave-to-cradle issues related to material choices

Architecture and Technology:

The appropriate use of technology should be the aim of any project. This includes not only the technology used in the design process but also in construction, operation, and maintenance.

Architecture and The Social-Cultural-Economic-Political Context

All architecture is physically contextual (whether consciously conceived or not); it is also always political (whether consciously calculated or not). The primary goal should be to make architectural proposals that are strategic rather than reactive, appropriate to the space and time of the given situation.

The Paradigm of Architecture:

The ultimate aim of this topical sequence is to understand how our creative work reflects upon, questions, and relates to the broader field of architecture.
Are we advancing the discipline or simply replicating the past?

Planning in the Present for the Future :

Buildings are among the more durable artifacts that a society produces with causal effects on the environment that far outlive their makers. As thoughtful, educated designers

People Create Their Own Environment

Climate and the Built Environment: Case Study
Downtown Albuquerque on a 90-plus-degree summer day can be exhaustingly hot unless you are walking on a breezy, shady sidewalk. That same sidewalk in subfreezing weather can be harrowing, with skyscrapers blotting out the sun as strong winds nearly knock you down.

Climate Planning:

Climate planning in a downtown area is almost beyond solution because of the complex and interacting variables involved. The very nature of a built up area means there will be many buildings, many long shadows cast in the winter, and many miles of asphalt, concrete and metal that absorb and re-radiate heat. These materials have a further adverse effect on the climate because they shed rain water that could provide evaporative cooling.

The size and shape of buildings, the way they are oriented, the layout of streets, and the placement of trees all affect the wind, temperature, and even air-pollution concentration. Wind is one of Albuquerque's weather problems in all parts of the city. It is especially severe downtown where narrow streets and sidewalks, tall slab buildings, and north-south entrances help make it difficult to get around and almost impossible to open the heavy doors of our major public buildings.