DTM to NURBS—A Parametric Approach to Landscape Modeling for an Environmentally-Conscious Design

This research aims to develop a methodology for geometric analysis of the territory, which, by means of a specially designed digital tool, allows quantitative assessments useful for drawing up sustainability policies. The difficulty of working with this type of procedure is the sectorialisation of technical skills among those who deal with design at the architectural scale and those who work at territorial scale. The undertaken methodology establishes a workflow that can export data from a GIS tool and import it into a three-dimensional modeler. To do this you need an intermediate tool, a parametric software. The explained procedure aims to have maximum freedom of model geometries processing. Therefore, it has been based on Nurbs mathematical models. The application tested with this is the solar radiation analysis in the territory of Ortona, Italy, on the Adriatic coast. Starting from the cartographic data of the Abruzzo Region, the three-dimensional model has been developed and it has built a base for further analysis. This working methodology ensures efficient results with a low amount of human iteration to generate the final model. Some of the procedure’s limitations have been explained in detail, mainly due to the structure of the used components.

Sustainable design. Design approaches and directions of development

The purpose of the article covers the question of «Sustainable design», its design approaches, and possible directions of development. The results can be used to clarify the theoretical basis of environmentally conscious design and improve the corresponding algorithms in the design process. The methodology centers on applying f historical-comparative and chronological methods, as well as the method of terminological analysis, which helped to identify and consider terminological interpretations of recycling and upcycling as design approaches, and other terms related to the concept of environmentally conscious design. The scientific novelty of the study is to broaden the understanding of complex consideration of design at the present stage in the context of theoretical and methodological concepts with an environmental component, in particular with environmentally conscious design. Conclusions. The concept of «Sustainable design», covered in this article, as an environmentally conscious design, has a sufficient theoretical study. The practical significance can be represented in the form of two main design approaches, operating with the secondary use («re-use») of both raw materials (recycling) and the product itself (upcycling) in order to create a new consumer object. Possible directions for the development of Sustainable design cover professional communities of designers, associations of companies and organizations, state programs, but the most relevant are environmentally-oriented, educational programs for the training of qualified people in the field of design. These specialists will operate with optimal approaches for the development of facilities with environmental value, as well as improve them, identifying the most appropriate design solutions. The design results of these specialists will also contribute to the formation of public awareness regarding the «culture of behavior» with household waste and the rational use of resources.