Concept Of Sustainable Architecture Research Articles

Design for the Ecological Age: Rethinking the Role of Sustainability in Architectural Education

While sustainability has become a mainstream concern in design thinking and practice, the debate is fragmented and the concept of sustainable architecture remains contested. We interpret this as symptomatic of a widening gap between architectural academe and the world of practice. Inspired by the “pluralist imagination,” we propose a meta-framework based on analyses of competing discourses at three levels: conceptual, performance, and pedagogical. With the intention of inspiring a critical attitude among designers, the value of such a framework lies in its ability to promote dialogue across theoretical boundaries in order to impede both notions of theoretical determinism and panacean interpretations of proliferating sustainable practices.

Research on Ecological Regression Process of Sustainable Architecture

Architecture is experiencing course of into nature - out of natural - back to nature. The concept of sustainable architecture is actually present in the very early traditional architecture design. Putting forward sustainable ideas realized architecture ecological-regression process. The article start from analysis this process, demonstrates regression essence, discuss its dialectical reason, and look forward the future of sustainable development architecture.

THE CHALLENGE OF SUSTAINABILITY IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES AND THE ADAPTATION OF HERITAGE-INSPIRED ARCHITECTURE IN CONTEXT

Despite the considerable contributions in the developing world relevant to the development of sustainable environments, the concept of sustainable architecture is yet not widely considered within most of the developing communities whose priority lies with the immediate resolutions of many existing problems. This paper aims to analyze the challenges and applicability of sustainable architecture concepts in developing countries in order to develop a strategy to create a more sustainable built environment. It represents a pragmatic approach to investigate the role that indigenous practices and heritage inspired architectural solutions as key elements in this respect. The study suggests that utilization of scientific studies conducted on these traditional features and solutions in the early design stages and a computer aided adaptation using the available software can introduce a much progressive and environmentally aware architecture. As well, the study supposes that rational and pragmatic practices should be executed through an integrative approach to produce a synthesis of both pre-industrial and high tech-based design. This approach may confer a new dimension of hybridism to a distinct regional architecture. It might result in a much more ecologically-aware built environment as well as maintain a high level of self-consciousness.

Beyond the EPBD: The low energy residential settlement Borgo Solare

The European Directive on Energy Performance of Buildings (EPBD) imposes the adoption of measures for improving the energy efficiency in buildings. These measures should take into account the local weather conditions as well as internal thermal environment and cost-effectiveness. In this respect, Italy is a very interesting benchmark. For Northern Italy, the climatic context is particularly difficult to deal with cold winters and hot summers. The legislations are changing very rapidly, but has not fully adapted to the local context. The considered methodology still involves winter heating while summer cooling is addressed in incomplete and inadequate ways. The energy issue is addressed only partially as final energy consumption, but with little attention to LCA. Moreover, the belief that the buildings with high energy savings are too expensive, and therefore not attractive from economic point of view. For these reasons, it is very important to develop case studies to demonstrate the effectiveness of sustainable energy in architecture, according to a holistic approach. This paper describes a detailed techno–economic analysis for Borgo Solare project, an extremely advanced and innovative residential settlement designed on sustainable architecture concepts. One of the most innovative aspects of the project is that it is not just an experimental operation but Borgo Solare is a real urban district, which will be built without public funds and should be inhabited by common people. Excellent energy performance, therefore, must be accompanied by affordable market prices. The energy and economical analysis is presented taking into account also the embodied energy of the building. The results on the performance of a sample building (case study) of this settlement are reported, according to different construction standards: prior to EPBD, present from the EPBD and more efficient developed specifically for the project. It has been shown that using the better design practices and technologies the higher initial embodied energy in a low energy building could quickly paid back during its life span. The economic analysis, in the same way, evidences that higher initial investment in case of energy efficient building could become economically convenient during the life span of the building. This kind of analysis is essential to determine the actual sustainability of a building.

Sustainable Design for the Residences in Gaza City

It has been understood that the environmental impact of housing design, construction and operation has lower priority in research studies as compared to the conventional interests in cost, size, form, location and aesthetics. Gaza′s climatic data indicates that both cold and warm percentages are in the extreme values such as finding a flexible design tool that can satisfy human comfort is an important requirement in a predominantly sustainable architecture concept. Using this new concept to improve the thermal environment and ventilation of buildings through identifying, developing, and testing innovative concepts that can have potential for achieving human satisfaction in homes. Herein, basic principles of Successive Integration Method have been utilized on some materials and varying passive elements to achieve an adequate module′s elements. An integrated design with floor cooling and heating, natural ventilation and some additional passive techniques found that indoor temperature could be properly maintained.