The Role of Sustainable Architecture in an Era of Environmental Challenges

Anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions have increased since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. This triggered an unnatural warming and the Earth's temperature which has increased dramatically in a short period of time. This brought many problems such as natural disasters, tropical cyclones, heavy precipitation events, extreme heat events, and drought. It is an urgent need to make all processes “sustainable” in order to protect the environment and human life. Since urban areas are estimated to be the source of approximately 80% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and a significant proportion of these greenhouse gas emissions in urban areas originate from buildings, buildings should be considered as one of the first stops on the road to sustainability. The purpose of this chapter is to highlight the importance of sustainable architecture in addressing environmental challenges and ensuring sustainable urban development.

Traditional Islamic House (Ottoman House) Architecture, in Old Fatimid Cairo and Rosetta Cities, Egypt - An Example of Sustainable Architecture

The unique Traditional Islamic architecture characterizes some cities in the Arab Republic of Egypt. The purpose of the study is to highlight the significance of the Traditional Islamic house design, architectural elements, and the use of low-technology in house construction concerning sustainable architecture, in Old Fatimid Cairo and Rosetta (Rashid) cities. The study's method includes a literature review; with an overview of the history, the urban form, and the Islamic house design and architectural elements influenced by the local Islamic context (natural and cultural environments). A field survey included: the selection of eleven examples, five from Old Fatimid Cairo city and six examples from Rosetta (Rashid) city representing the most famous houses including the different architectural elements, and analyzing its components, the house design, spatial organization, building materials, house elements, courtyard, Mashrabiyah, wind catchers, and the construction system. Moreover, a comparative study for the selected Islamic houses illustrates the contexts' impact on the house design. In conclusion, the study highlighted the significance of Islamic house design and low-technology in house design and construction, which could be considered sustainable architecture and developed in the form of advanced technology in the future.

[Api]tecture: An Ecomimetic Design in Wellington City

<p><b>By engaging with ecomimicry concepts, it is hypothesized that an architecture of mutual inhabitation, of bees and humans, can provide a model for a sustainable city. The research reviews current architectural literature within the field of ecomimicry and adapts key theories to inform an urban bee/human building in Wellington City. These theories inform seven design characteristics that the building preforms as a ‘living structure’ to accommodate bees, at the same time accommodating humans.</b></p> <p>The research follows these seven design characteristics throughout the design process and applies them to an existing earthquake building within central Wellington City. The outcome of this research is a scenario where the relationship between humans and bees is synergistic and provides a model for an ecomimetic, sustainable architecture. The findings from this research suggest bees can co-inhabit with humans in an architecture that extracts aesthetic and sustainable principles that, in turn, can enrich the city.</p>

[Api]tecture: An Ecomimetic Design in Wellington City

<p><b>By engaging with ecomimicry concepts, it is hypothesized that an architecture of mutual inhabitation, of bees and humans, can provide a model for a sustainable city. The research reviews current architectural literature within the field of ecomimicry and adapts key theories to inform an urban bee/human building in Wellington City. These theories inform seven design characteristics that the building preforms as a ‘living structure’ to accommodate bees, at the same time accommodating humans.</b></p> <p>The research follows these seven design characteristics throughout the design process and applies them to an existing earthquake building within central Wellington City. The outcome of this research is a scenario where the relationship between humans and bees is synergistic and provides a model for an ecomimetic, sustainable architecture. The findings from this research suggest bees can co-inhabit with humans in an architecture that extracts aesthetic and sustainable principles that, in turn, can enrich the city.</p>

Moving Forwards, Looking Backwards: Re-Contextualising Maori Concepts and Understandings of the Living Environment.

<p>Māori have a unique relationship with the built as a living environment; it is a being—an ancestor, to be respected. Michael Linzey in his essay; ‘Speaking to and talking about Māori Architecture’, distinguishes Maori understandings of architecture and their relationship with the environment from westernised understandings. This reading by Linzey highlights Māori treatment of architecture as a respected ancestor with whom Māori engage in a dialogue. This dialogue enables Māori to participate with their built and natural environment in a personal and intimate way. A study of the unique relationship Māori have with their built and living environment provides us with an opportunity to learn to engage with our surroundings in a more sensitive and respectful manner, that would contribute to our current and urgent search and need for not just a sustainable architecture, but one that facilitates and sustains our relationships with each other, and the built and natural environment. This study embraces this window of opportunity suggested by Linzey’s essay and looks backwards to explore Māori concepts and values within the built environment. Could this unique relationship Māori have with their living environment be useful to architecture, and if our approach to design took on these understandings could it lend itself to helping to establish a more people, place and environmentally sensitive architecture?</p>

Moving Forwards, Looking Backwards: Re-Contextualising Maori Concepts and Understandings of the Living Environment.

<p>Māori have a unique relationship with the built as a living environment; it is a being—an ancestor, to be respected. Michael Linzey in his essay; ‘Speaking to and talking about Māori Architecture’, distinguishes Maori understandings of architecture and their relationship with the environment from westernised understandings. This reading by Linzey highlights Māori treatment of architecture as a respected ancestor with whom Māori engage in a dialogue. This dialogue enables Māori to participate with their built and natural environment in a personal and intimate way. A study of the unique relationship Māori have with their built and living environment provides us with an opportunity to learn to engage with our surroundings in a more sensitive and respectful manner, that would contribute to our current and urgent search and need for not just a sustainable architecture, but one that facilitates and sustains our relationships with each other, and the built and natural environment. This study embraces this window of opportunity suggested by Linzey’s essay and looks backwards to explore Māori concepts and values within the built environment. Could this unique relationship Māori have with their living environment be useful to architecture, and if our approach to design took on these understandings could it lend itself to helping to establish a more people, place and environmentally sensitive architecture?</p>

Sustainable Architectural Investigations on Bugis Vernacular House: Case Study of Tenun Tourism Village, Samarinda Seberang, East Kalimantan, Indonesia

Sustainability is a global problem, and architecture can contribute through vernacular architecture. To find out the potential of vernacular architecture to contribute, it is necessary to study sustainable architecture in vernacular houses. In this study, an investigation of sustainable architecture in Bugis vernacular houses will be carried out with a case study of the Tenun Tourism Village. We find that to contribute to the field of architecture, an approach through the concept of sustainable architecture is needed, one of which is green architecture. Thus, we conclude that there is a need for a sustainable architectural investigation of Bugis vernacular houses with green architecture approach and through the assessment of EDGE indicators. The results of this study indicate that the Bugis vernacular architecture in the Tenun Tourism Village can contribute to the issue of sustainability. However, it needs some renovations and additional technology. In addition, the material efficiency can still be maintained even though the material is replaced with the latest material.