Characterizing sustainability aesthetics of buildings and environments: methodological frame and pilot application to the hybrid environments

Abstract

Growing environmental awareness and emerging design and performance requirements related with the implementation of sustainability goals inevitably have an influence on construction, architecture, urban design and the development of our built environment in general. This influence is reflected both in the increasingly efficient ecological performance of built structures and the growing array of related technologies, and in the aesthetic expression of these environmentally conscious designs. The aesthetic expression of sustainability concept and values is sometimes referred to as sustainability aesthetics. The aim of this research is to develop and test a methodological framework for characterizing the sustainability aesthetics of the built environments. The elaborated methodological framework integrates biophilic design, sustainability aesthetics, regenerative design and genius loci as the most promising approaches, allowing the integration of human and environmental concerns. To test the framework, we selected historic built environments that reflect long-lasting sustainable co-existence between humans and their environment and represent hybrid characteristics of both architectural and urban space. One of the purposes selecting these environments for the case study was to determine the features of an organically evolved sustainability aesthetics that could become a valuable source of inspiration for architectural design and management of the built environments.

Shape-finding in Biophilic Architecture: Application of AI-based Tool

“…For developing the system of criteria for evaluation of generated images, the analysis of several systems of evaluation criteria and design approaches was carried out. The analysed approaches and systemssustainability aesthetics [23], [24], biophilic healing index [25], 14 patterns of biophilic design [22], elements and attributes of biophilic design [21], and biophilic interior design [26] -allowed developing the system of criteria [27] for evaluation of biophilic qualities of architectural and environmental shapes based on the analysis of the features of generated images. The distinguished criteria subdivided into five categories -features of environment, shapes and forms, patterns, light and space, human-environment relations -are presented in Fig.…”

Regeneration of Panel Housing Estates from the Perspective of Thermal Technology, Sustainability and Environmental Context (Case Study of the City of Ostrava, Czech Republic)

“…If we want to fulfil the quality pledges of the building ecosystem in the conditions of the 21st century and regenerate prefab residential housing in accordance with the principles of sustainable construction, it is necessary to ensure and assess the complexity of the interactive connections of the ecosystem of prefab residential housing as a whole with the external environment. The need to take into account the construction environment can be found in the arguments of many authors [13][14][15][16], stressing the need to revise the approach to the design, implementation, and operation of buildings, not only residential buildings but all buildings that are part of the civic amenities of the city and in the field of civil engineering in general.…”