Architectural Responses to Environmental Issues

By: C.J. Norris

SHADOW
LIGHT
MASS
TEXTURE
MATERIALS
VOLUME
Space
(EL Demery 99)

Architectural Timeline: 1675-2020

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Colonial Era
Federal Age
Victorian
Arts and Crafts
Modernism
(Architectural Timeline 1675- 1960)
:
18
th
Century
Architecture

Building concepts was
borrowed from
England.
Half- timber house with
exposed framing and
wattled walls served
beautifully in the
mother country.
Once duplicated in US
climatic conditions
caused the walls to
crack and let cold
winter winds in.
(Houses 149)
18
th
Century
Architecture
Represents the epitome
of the great American
majority.
Developed originally by
the American colonists
and function in a way that
was indigenous with 18
th

century life.
Frame-covered with
shingles
Inside Walls- plank board
and plaster
Low ceilings, small rooms.
small windows
No plumbing or lighting
(Houses 149)
The Colonial
House Today:

Central heating, electric wiring with its
attendants outlets
Perfect rectangle divided into 3 or 4 rooms
on the 1
st
floor; and 2 to 3 rooms and a bath
on the 2
nd
floor
Rectangular living room
Series of doors and windows in every room
(function as ventilators)
Picture windows is used often, however it
does not relate to the scenery or control
light or atmosphere.
Small Entrance
Stairway that goes straight up from the hall
Dining Room- used a few hours during a day,
yet wastes approximately ! of the total
living space on the 1
st
floor.
Efficient Kitchen if equipped with modern
cabinets and appliances
Bedrooms and bath has slanting walls
(Houses 149)
The Charleston Single House
Early architecture is highly English in flavor
The Single House first appeared in the early 18th century
The tall, slender house with many tiered piazzas was
influenced by shade,, ventilation, fire protection, privacy and
social status
Remains a remarkable example of vernacular architecture
adapting itself to the demands of nature, culture, and society
Architectural style is a home built one room wide with double
covered piazzas or porches. It can be many rooms long and
multiple stories high with the length of the house
perpendicular to the street. The house sits asymmetrically
along one side of the lot line allowing most of the
undeveloped area to be used as a single side yard (Herman).
The Charleston Single House
(Herman)
(CSADMIN)
19
th
Century
Architecture:
The Curtain Wall system became
popular in architectural design of
modern times.
Was supported between columns and
piers, and on girders or other
support, and sustaining no weight
other than its own.
Purpose of design:
- To accommodate structural
deflections, including those
generated the wind, fire and other
elements.
- To control environmental
infiltration or leakage.
- To provide long-term, low-
maintenance.
Materials used for construction
included large glass, metal, clay tile,
terra cotta, stone, and clay.
(Kelly 16-17)
The Reliance Building in Chicago
1895
:
20
th
Century
Architecture

This period was known as the
International Style and was
formally introduced to American
architects in 1932.
Architectural design coincided
with the demands of the
economy, efficiency, and
eliminated features on the
faade.
Focus on manipulating the
natural environment- heating,
cooling, artificial illumination,
acoustics and electronic
communications.
Environmental issues were not
considered.
(Kelly 18)
The McGraw Hill Building 1932
MODERN ARCHITECTURE
What is Modern Architecture
Inspired by precedents like Frank Lloyd Wright,
Louis Sullivan, and Le Corbusier
Form follows function
Simplicity in form and design
Nothing to hide
Focus on linear elements
Open floor plan
Material drives the design
(Distinct Build)
Falling Waters Sullivan Center
Villa Savoye
(Kaufmann)
(Urban Land Institute) (Howe)
Problems
The built environment has
a large carbon footprint.
Energy is wasted
Spaces within can not
meet human comfort.
Materials used harm
human health.
(How to reduce by One Ton a Year)
(Bentrup)

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN vs. THE
ENVIRONMENT
(Bose)
SUPPORTING THEORIES ON
SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE
The Responsive And
Sustainable Product
Design Theory
Supports Papaneks idea of
industrial design of inspecting
practical approaches to design
programs.
Highlights 8 standards of Socially
Sustainable Product Design
Emphasizes 3 things designers
must consider.


The Sociotechnical
Theory
Explores how environmental
problems are identified, defined,
translated, valued, and embodied
in built forms through diverse
design and development
pathways.
Emphasizes 4 ways researchers
can trace competitive
environmental values and
practices.

(Melles et al. 143-150)
(Guy 21)

The Responsive And Sustainable Product
Design Theory









(Melles et al. 143-150)

Dependency
Local
Control
Suitability
Need
Usability
Empowerment
Affordability
Advancement
Standards of Socially
Sustainable Product
Design
The Responsive And Sustainable
Product Design Theory

Be accountable
for clients
choices.

Design
according to
the needs of
clients.
Carefully select
products that
are ecological.
(Melles et al. 143-150)
The Sociotechnical Theory
Building Logistical Green
Environments
Exploring Debates and
Mapping Practices of
Sustainable Architecture
Amending Their Focus and
Scope of Debates and
Technological Change
Encouraging a range of
Context-Specific Responses
How Researchers Can Trace
Competitive Environmental Values and
Practices
(Guy 22)
Architects and other professions musty collectively come
together and intertwine ideas of the past with the very thing
that cause the problem, technology.
Past Ideas
Solar Orientation of a building
Natural Ventilation
Utilization of curtain walls
Future Ideas
Vertical Farming
Harnessing natural elements
(solar, wind, and rain)
Tea- Pavilions
Green roof tops
Eco- friendly mobile trailers
Eco pods
Biomimicry

(Gromicko)
Biomimicry
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hlLecLure
Tea Pavilion
The facades are as
transparent as possible.
Construction is made of
beams and almost invisible
bars of steel .
Grass roof is part of route
through the building.
Insulated with sheeps wool
and toilets are flushed with
rain water.
House is in harmony with
nature.
Located in the Netherlands.
Calderon, par. 1
Eco- Friendly Mobile Trailers

It is green-roofed, transportable, stackable
structure in a high-rise environment.
Exoskeleton structures houses individual
units with 3 major compartments.
A lift moves modules up and down. A tower
with a staircase, elevator and water storage
space. A lattice-like structure between each
tower provides a place for each unit to slide
into their levels and pivots into designated
slots. There are 6 slots per floor.
Each unit is thermally and acoustically
insulated and is mounted on a rigid steel
frame.
Modules contain a living room, dining room,
bathroom and bedroom, and can pivot 20
degrees without disturbing a neighbor.
An owner can lower the home onto a truck
and take it to the countryside to get a break
from the city life.
Calderon, par. 2
As an architect you design for the present, with an awareness of the past,
for a future which is essentially unknown. Norman Foster
Works Cited
Architectural Timeline 1675-1960. House of Antique Hardware. Antique-By-Hand. Web. 29 April
2014.
Bose, Debopriya. How do Humans Affect the Environment. Buzzle. 2000. Web. 28 Feb.
2012.
Calderone, Len. How Architects Help the Environment and Save Energy. The Alternative
Energy eMagazine. Web. Aug. 2013.
CSADMIN. Colonial Cousins: The Philadelphia Row House and the Charleston Single. Clicks & Mortar
A Real Estate Blog. CLICKSPACE. 15 May 2012. Web. 29 April 2014.
Distinct Build. Modern Architecture Defining Characteristics. The Okanagans Guide to Unique,
Contemporary, and Distinctive Architecture. Web. 29 April 2014.
El Demery, Ibrahim Mostafa. Sustainable Architectural Design: Revivng Traditional Design
And Modern Solutions. Archnet- IJAR 4.1 (2010): 99-110. Art and Architecture Complete.
Web. 13 April. 2014.
Guy, Simon. Pragmatic Ecologies: Situating Sustainable Building. Architectural Science
Review. March 2010; 53 (1): 21-28.
Herman, Bernard. Charleston Single House. Charleston County Public Library. Web. 29 April 2014.

Works Cited
Houses. UNCC Architecture Database. Web. 7 March 2014: 149-154.
Howe, Jeffery. Le Corbusier Villa Savoye. Web. 29 April 2014.
How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint by One Ton a Year. Treehugger. Web. 29
April 2014.
Kaufmann, Edgar. Fallingwater pictures: fall photo. 16 January 2012. Web. 29 April
2014.
Kelly, Stephen K. An Image of Modernity: An American History of the Curtain Wall.
Melles, Gavin, Ian de Vere, and Vanja Misic. Socially Responsible Design: Thinking
Beyond
the Triple Bottom Line to Socially Responsive and Sustainable Product Design.
Codesign 7.3/4 (2011); 143-154. Art & Architecture Complete. Web. 13 Apr.
2014.
Pawlyn Michael. Using natures genius in architecture. TED. November 2010. Web. 29
April 2014.