The bioclimatic design and bioclimatic architecture has always existed, reason why some authors consider it a redundant term, for all architecture should be, by nature, essentially bioclimatic. Unfortunately, however, this is no more than a declaration of principles that, for various reasons, has not always been followed in practice.
The term bioclimatic design or bioclimatic architecture itself is relatively recent. According to Serra’s definition ( 1989 ), “the word bioclimatic tries to capture the interest that man’s response , the bios, has as a user of architecture, facing the external environment, the climate , both affecting the architectural form at the same time” . Therefore, it is about optimizing the man-climate relationship through the architectural form.
Summary
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- 1 Story
- 1 Background
- 2 Architecture and urban planning in ancient times
- 3 Vernacular architecture
- 4 Modern movement in the 20th century
- 5 Solar houses
- 6 From the energy crisis to the ecological crisis
- 2 See also
- 3 Sources
History
Background
The first uses of the Sun in architecture had a symbolic and religious origin; However, since ancient times, in correspondence with the scarce domain of science and technology , man has been forced to adapt architectural solutions to the conditions of the environment to procure appropriate spaces for life only from natural resources. available, as is still the case today in some regions of the planet.
Architecture and urban planning in ancient times
Typical house of ancient Greece. The sun-facing portico protected the rooms from the high summer sun and allowed the passage of the high winter sun
A good example of the use of natural conditions in architecture has been found in many cities of Ancient Greece , which were arranged in a grid, where the living spaces were oriented to the south and related to a patio through a portico that protected them. from the high summer sun, while allowing the low winter sun to penetrate them. Thus, the Greeks discovered very early this elemental principle of bioclimatic design for cold and temperate regions of the northern hemisphere, which has been repeatedly used throughout history in different cultures and geographic locations.
This principle was also used in Ancient China and in the Roman Empire (Butti and Perlin, 1985 ). The Romans also discovered the greenhouse effect: they used in their baths and baths a kind of glass produced from thin layers of mica that they placed in certain areas of the baths, regularly oriented to the northwest, seeking maximum solar collection in hours of in the afternoon and mainly during the winter.
The Roman Empire occupied a vast territory with dissimilar climatic conditions, some of which, in certain places, varied considerably throughout the year. In these cases, it was very difficult to achieve appropriate indoor environmental conditions at all times only through architectural design; therefore, it was decided to move the interior spaces of the houses in the different seasons (for example, it was recommended to locate the dining room towards the “west in winter»), Or there could even be residences for seasonal use. The experience of the Romans of the classical period in the field of bioclimatic design was collected in the Vitruvian treatises, which have been the object of study for the architects of the planet throughout history until today.
Vernacular architecture
Ancient Chinese architecture used the same Greek principle to protect interior spaces from the high summer sun and allow the low winter sun to enter the northern hemisphere
The cult vs. the popular. The first globalization Vernacular architecture, which reflects the traditions transmitted from one generation to another and which has generally been produced by the population without the intervention of technicians or specialists, has always responded to the conditions of its context, seeking, through the popular wisdom, make the most of the natural resources available to maximize the quality and comfort of people. “Cultured” or style architecture, on the contrary, has followed more the formal patterns or codes imposed in each epoch by the predominant “style” or architectural movement, than the conditions imposed by the medium; although of course
Thus, the process of architectural globalization is as old (or perhaps older) as the old Romanesque churches, and it continued to manifest itself in Gothic cathedrals during the Middle Ages , in the Renaissance, and later in Neoclassicism and in all ‘Neos »That happened to him until the eclecticism of the 19th century , and the modern movement of the 20th century .
Modern movement in the 20th century
The modern movement discovered the principle used in ancient Greece. The long and narrow buildings were oriented looking for access to the sun , which was also guaranteed by the separation between them
The modern movement that emerged at the beginning of the 20th century had as its background the first European working-class communities and was looking for solutions that would allow the massive (and therefore industrialized and standardized) production of housing for the general population.
However, the concept of typical, repetitive and standardized housing that was based on an ideal of industrialization of construction that was never achieved, started from the productivist and mechanistic model of development that has been widely questioned since the last decades of the 20th century.
Today it is known that the best architectural solution (the most sustainable, economical and appropriate) must always be specific and respond to the conditions of the environment in which it is inserted and of which it will become part for a long time (while its useful life lasts). ), and with which it will establish connections to obtain the resources on which it depends (water, energy) and evacuate the residuals it produces. Very similar to what happens with living organisms, on whose model the current sustainable conception of the world is based. The modern movement, however, gave rise to the so-called “international style”, which spread equally to the entire planet, against the grain of customs, idiosyncrasies, traditions and climatic conditions,
In tropical latitudes and hot-humid climates such as Cuba, this urban and architectural model emerged in cold climates to guarantee access to the sun was justified to favor cross ventilation with the shallow depth of buildings and wind recovery through distance among them. However, long and narrow buildings are much more exposed to solar radiation, and the air speeds in the interior spaces are so high that they are annoying to the point that it is sometimes not possible to open the windows.
The result is that the thermal gain in interior spaces increases, especially with the use of thin reinforced concrete exterior walls (a product of industrialization) and unprotected glass windows exposed to the sun (according to the formal codes originally imposed in the countries developed and cold of the first world); This cannot be counteracted by ventilation, which is the most variable climatological parameter (speed, direction and direction) and whose behavior is hardly predictable, since it is affected by innumerable variables, such as the urban context, the vegetation, the volume of the building , its interior spatial solution, and even the closing or opening of interior windows and doors.
The economic failure of this model for massive social housing in the Third World (which was its original reason), can be seen with the uncontrolled urban growth of the so-called “informal city”, which emerged as a more or less spontaneous popular solution to the ineffectiveness of the official model.
Solar houses
The solar principle of long and narrow buildings to guarantee access to the sun was justified in hot and humid climates such as Cuba, to ensure cross ventilation
Between the thirties and fifties of the twentieth century, numerous investigations were carried out in the United States that served as the basis for the construction of experimental prototypes (mainly housing), whose form of design made possible the direct use of solar energy in the heating of interior spaces and in water heating. These experiences demonstrated the role of architectural design (its form) in the passive use of solar energy and the suitability of adapting other active ecotécnicas in architectural design. Unfortunately, the low prices of fossil fuels caused the “death” of these experiences,
From the energy crisis to the ecological crisis
The energy crisis that started in 1973 served as an alert regarding the danger posed by the absolute dependence on fossil fuels, so that although prices are still low today, they gained awareness regarding their exhaustibility and the knowledge and practices related to renewable energy sources in general and bioclimatic design in particular. The new impetus that bioclimatic architecture received in the 1970s responded, therefore, to a need to save conventional energy derived from fossil fuels. However, the ecological crisis of the eighties forced a broader approach, seeing architecture not only as a way for efficiency and energy saving, but as an important way to contribute to the preservation of the environment, in addition to human well-being. Thus, in recent decades, it has gone from the concept of bioclimatic architecture to that of bioecological architecture, and the scale has been extended to urban ecology. Bioclimatic architecture is presented today as an indispensable requirement for the sustainability of the built environment, which must be economically viable, socially fair and environmentally sound. seeing architecture not only as a way for efficiency and energy saving, but as an important way to contribute to the preservation of the environment, in addition to human well-being. Thus, in recent decades, it has gone from the concept of bioclimatic architecture to that of bioecological architecture, and the scale has been extended to urban ecology. Bioclimatic architecture is presented today as an indispensable requirement for the sustainability of the built environment, which must be economically viable, socially fair and environmentally sound. seeing architecture not only as a way for efficiency and energy saving, but as an important way to contribute to the preservation of the environment, in addition to human well-being. Thus, in recent decades, it has gone from the concept of bioclimatic architecture to that of bioecological architecture, and the scale has been extended to urban ecology. Bioclimatic architecture is presented today as an indispensable requirement for the sustainability of the built environment, which must be economically viable, socially fair and environmentally sound. in recent decades, from the concept of bioclimatic architecture to that of bioecological architecture, and the scale has been extended to urban ecology. Bioclimatic architecture is presented today as an indispensable requirement for the sustainability of the built environment, which must be economically viable, socially fair and environmentally sound. in recent decades, from the concept of bioclimatic architecture to that of bioecological architecture, and the scale has been extended to urban ecology. Bioclimatic architecture is presented today as an indispensable requirement for the sustainability of the built environment, which must be economically viable, socially fair and environmentally sound.
