Bioclimatic Integration Into the Architectural Design

This research studies the influence of architectural education and early work experience of a group of architects, whose work shows strong features of bioclimatic integration (such as Lele and Severiano Porto in Brazil and Spencer de Grey and Mario Cucinella in Europe). It also evaluates the relation of this background with their understanding of architecture itself and, consequently, with their understanding of their professional role. Nevertheless, the research also evaluates the principles and beliefs translated in their design philosophy, which affects their main considerations and approach to the design problem, regarding the integration of bioclimatic issues. It also embraces the evaluation of the impact of requirements of energy efficiency in building regulations on the integration of bioclimatic concepts into architectural design. Therefore, these evaluations also provided the information to establish a relation between background and practice. Establishing this relationship, the related problems or effective examples of the consideration of bioclimatic concepts in design were recognized and synthesized. The analysis of their individual experiences, through semi-structured interviews, indicates that the integration of bioclimatic concepts into design is beyond the development or improvement of tools. First of all, it is fundamental that these concepts are part of the design philosophy of the professional, which is determinant on the application of research and innovation in architectural practice. Therefore, before the tools, the formal education can be a tool to promote the integration of these principles into their design philosophy. It happened in the cases in which there was a commitment of the school to develop a technical knowledge base in building physics through studio activities, with emphasis on the aesthetic character of environmental integration. This knowledge can be consolidated in the contact with the building site construction, which also strengthens the ethical commitment regarding the quality of the built object. It has the potential to generate confidence on the consideration of bioclimatic issues, also making it easier to get the right information from available resources and tools, via a critical understanding of the different issues.