THE NATURAL AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT

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 Pt. 1: Introduction

Natural Environment

The term ‘natural environment’ refers to the non‐human‐made

surroundings and conditions in which all living and non‐living things exist
on earth. The common concept of the natural environment encompasses
two different components:
• Ecological units that operate as a natural system (such as soil,
vegetation, and so on)
• Universal natural resources (such as air and water)

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https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/7318418120121595
/
 Pt. 1: Introduction

The surface of the Earth as a whole is an

Ecosystem, called the Biosphere.

The Biosphere or the surface of the Earth constitutes nature’s

‘free resources’; air, water, and land, where living things
exist.

The Biosphere with a structure of smaller units

called Ecosystems includes all the Organisms and the
Nonliving Environment found in a particular place, and this
also includes our built environment, an area that needs to be

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integrated into the ecosystem without negatively affecting the
balance in the ecosystem itself.
 Pt. 1: Introduction
Built Environment
In contrast with the natural environment, the built environment refers
to areas that have been fundamentally transformed and influenced by human activity,
such as cities, towns, infrastructure, and so on. In recent years, public health research
has expanded the definition of built environments to include healthy food access,
community gardens, “walkability” and “bikeability”.

The built environment has a strong impact on both human and environmental
health. Buildings and infrastructure surrounding them consume great
quantities of materials and energy during construction, operations, and eventual
deconstruction at the end of the building’s life.

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 Pt. 1: Introduction
History
Hippodamus of Miletus – “Father of Urban Planning”

• Developed Greek cities from 498BC to 408BC

• Created order by using grid plans that mapped
the city
• City of Miletus – one of Hippodamus’ most
famous urban planning

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 Pt. 1: Introduction

City Beautiful movement in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The effort was in
partnership with others who believed that beautifying cities would improve the moral
compass of the cities and encourage the upper class to spend their money in cities. The
beautification process included parks and architectural design.

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Daniel Hudson Burnham
 Pt. 1: Introduction

Modern Built Environment

Modern built environments have emerged out of the

interdisciplinary field that addresses the design, construction, management,
and use of these man‐made surroundings as an interrelated whole as well as
their relations to human activities over time. Construction plays a central role
in transforming the natural environment into the built environment, and there
are many considerations and restrictions that can apply before a project is
given permission to proceed in terms of how it may influence the
environment.

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The built environment is a significant contributor to global greenhouse gas

emissions. In many industrialized nations more than 40% of carbon emissions
are the result of energy consumption by buildings. There is therefore
significant potential through the refurbishment of the existing building stock
to significantly reduce energy consumption and the associated carbon dioxide
emissions.

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As populations move, there is a shift from traditional neighborhoods
to suburban areas. In traditional neighborhoods, residents can walk to nearby
schools shopping destinations and other conveniences. By contrast, in suburban
areas, the emphasis is on building clusters, often removed from necessary
services. This encourages greater dependence on the automobile and often
discourages walking and biking. Spielberg, 1989
 Pt. 1: Introduction

Architecture and Nature

Understanding the natural environment is the first step towards

achieving a nature integral design. It entails understanding nature’s
environmental activities, the Ecosystem, and its actions and reactions that
will relate to building designs.

Thinking cityscape, the first association is a landscape built of structures: a

conglomerate of buildings of different use, scale, form, creating more or less
regular urban structure. Through sustainable design, this usual image might
be inverted. The buildings are often hidden concealed the green roofs,
hidden into the ground for more efficient insulation creating a new
topography in the existing natural landscape.

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 Sample Projects

Mountain Dwellings, Big, Conhagen, 2008

• Considered as an architectural attempt of counter‐reaction to

the natural Danish monotonous lowlands landscape.
• Stacking housing units on top of artificial concrete mountain
reducing both: heating energy and electric lighting energy
demand.
• The green roof area provides the space for terrace and garden
for the unit above.,
Mountain Dwellings, Big, Conhagen, 2008 – Photo by P. Haupt

Grassroots Community Center,

Eger Architects, London 2005

• This kind of concept derives from mega‐structural and cellular

architecture from the 1950s.

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• The new topography is an outcome of sustainable architecture
features using natural landscape components.
• Gaining the image that it was carved into the ground.
Grassroots Community Center, Eger Architects,
London 2005 – Photo by P. Haupt
 Pt. 2: Architectural
Consideration

Traditional approach; Ecology integration solution

Building designs and construction take up natural foliage spaces or
natural landforms. These natural landforms or foliage that supports some
useful ecological organisms should be replaced systematically in order to
ensure resuscitation of displaced plants and organisms which are also
necessary for an ecological balance.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emilio_Ambasz#/m
edia/File:ACROS_Fukuoka_2011.jpg

Designing with nature entails managing the three basic nature‐

resources of air, land, and water. This also involves utilizing design elements
and ideas that will make the best use of these nature‐resources and their extended
influences that may be human‐friendly or otherwise. Careful consideration is
needed in the choice of topography and terrain, and the management of
climate and energy.

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 Pt. 2: Architectural
Consideration
Orientation and Choice of Building Site
A building site is the closest environment to any proposed building plan; it forms the
immediate atmosphere for the occupants of such a building and it is expected to satisfy
the desires of the proposed occupants as well as satisfy the environment that will host it.

https://www.pinterest.ph/sengchan3538/sun‐path/

• Sun Study

For a tropical zone, the kind with peak temperatures

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touching 30deg.C and daytime variations being as much as
20deg.C. External spaces, interiors, and the light‐sensitive
spaces while including the characteristic passive design
elements such as mutual shading and adaptability to the
seasonal change of the sun.

https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/445997169341292607/
 Pt. 2: Architectural
Consideration
Orientation and Choice of Building Site
A building site is the closest environment to any proposed building plan; it forms the
immediate atmosphere for the occupants of such a building and it is expected to satisfy
the desires of the proposed occupants as well as satisfy the environment that will host it.

• Prevailing Winds

Besides sun orientation, another factor to look at is the

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orientation of the building along with the directions of the
prevailing winds for optimum cross‐ventilation and cooling of
the structure.
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Consideration
Climate Integration

A climate‐integrated design is a strategy that seeks to take advantage of the positive climate attributes of a
particular location while minimizing the effect of attributes that may impair comfort or increase energy
requirements. A climate‐integrated design should consider the following points.

• Understand the climate zones and • Use thermal mass to improve comfort and
microclimates efficiency

• Understand the basic physiology of • Utilize the local winds and breezes as much as
human thermal comfort can be harnessed for improved comfort

• Control the sun to reduce loads and • Finally, effective choice of material and design
enhance visual comfort technique for optimized results

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 Pt. 2: Architectural
Consideration

The microclimate of a building site can make or break a climate

responsive design, for instance to better harness the solar rays for a
passive design or a solar energy design, the solar path needs to be
evaluated, as shadows cast by nearby buildings, trees, or hills are
important considerations in orienting a solar collector or designing a
passive solar building

• Shading
To limit the heat gain, access to daylight and its entry through
the openings, shading devices are essential environmental
controls that greatly reduce the need for mechanical heating and
cooling systems.

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 Nature Factor Resource Building Fabric Service 
Implication
Utilizing Nature in Building Designs Air Free Air Façade and Roof Heat energy
‐ Natural Ventilation ‐ Lightweight or massed  ‐ Solar thermal 
In the study of nature and design, vast literature exists. When the two
‐ Wind Force façade system
areas are connected, they are mainly referenced under bioclimatic
‐ Energy content, Stack  ‐ Planted surfaces ‐ Wind energy 
design or vernacular designs with an emphasis on basic ideas of a nature
effect ‐ Rainwater collectors generator
integrated design.
‐ Solar energy, diffuse  ‐ Day light collectors and 
radiation Shades
‐ Solar energy, direct  ‐ Passive solar absorber
radiation ‐ Night cooling by 
outside air
‐ Evaporative cooling
Rethinking Cities Construction
‐ Courtyards
“I am very concerned that we may be moving not Soil Groundwater Green zones Natural 
towards consolidation but dispersion. That would suck ‐ Cold energy ‐ Planted surfaces landscaping
all the energy and vitality out of our cities” ‐ Heat energy Ground ‐ Permaculture
Earth/rock ‐ Passive solar energy ‐ Pools and 
‐ Enrique Norten ‐ Geothermal cooling ‐ Passive cooling energy ponds
‐ Heat energy
There are many wonderful building styles from all over the world that
can inform us with their shapes, materials, arrangements, decorations,
concepts for heating and cooling, etc. Vernacular architecture has been Water Lake/River/Sea Pure water Main supply
losing ground over the last couple of centuries, as modern methods ‐ Pump water or greywater ‐ Public supply (drinking, 
prevail. ‐ Heat/Cold energy cooking) Self‐supply

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Greywater ‐ Bore holes
This is unfortunate since many of the old ways employ natural materials ‐ Waste water 
and simple concepts that are energy efficient. Also, the buildings (condenser water, 
themselves are often beautiful and enhance simple live styles which are flushing, cleaning)
advantageous to the issue of environmental protection and health. Rainwater
‐ Flushing, cleaning, 
cooling

Table 2.2 Nature‐positive design scheme
 Recent studies identify the sustainable properties
vernacular architecture and vernacular design principles hold in
sustainable building. Although most of the original appearance
of vernacular architectures disappeared through the renewal of
the ideas of new developments in cities and cultures, there is
still a lot of building substance that could be rediscovered as old
and historic.
Photo by Katsuhisa Kida/FOTOTECA

“Man shapes his environment…

..but he is also shaped by it.”
Fuji Kindergarten, Japan

The design integrated a physical encircling a tree, the innovative Fuji

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Kindergarten, designed by Yui and Takaharu Tezuka, highlights nature
as a teacher every day.
 Selgas Cano Offices in Madrid, Spain
Sunken into the ground, curved glass opens the office up to
spectacular and unusual views of the surrounding woods. The
space is filled with natural light that bounce of the bright
interior colors.

Selgas Cano Offices – Photo by Iwan Baan

Cheonggyecheon in Seoul, South Korea

After years of polluting the Cheonggyechion River, the city covered it

in 1968 with an elevated, 8‐lane highway, hiding the river from view.
But in 2003, the mayor behan an initiative to improve traffic and

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restore the river. The Cheonggyecheon Park opened in 2005, bringing
people into close contact with the water and newly established parks
through a central urban corridor.

Cheonggyecheon in Seoul, South Korea – Photo by David Maddox

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