Overview

The sixth International Conference on Harmonisation between Architecture and Nature (Eco-Architecture 2016) follows the five successful meetings which started in the New Forest, home of the Wessex Institute of Technology, in 2006; and followed in the Algarve (2008); A Coruna (2010), the island of Kos (2012) and Siena (2014).

Eco-Architecture implies a new approach to the design process intended to harmonise its products with nature. This involves ideas such as minimum use of energy at each stage of the building process, taking into account the amount required during the extraction and transportation of materials, their fabrication, assembly, building erection, maintenance and eventual future recycling. Another important issue is the adaptation of the architectural design to the natural environment, learning from nature and long time honoured samples of traditional constructions.

The conference will deal with topics such as building technologies, design by passive systems, design with nature, cultural sensitivity, life cycle assessment, resources and rehabilitation and many others including case studies from different places around the world. The list of topics gives an idea of the scope of the meeting, papers on other topics relating to the conference objectives, are welcome. Eco-Architecture is very multi-disciplinary by definition, attracting, in addition to architects, many other professionals. In that regard the conference participants, as well as architects, are expected to be engineers, planners, physical scientists, sociologists and economists, providing all of them an opportunity to share information and ideas with their colleagues from different regions around the world.

Conference Topics:

The following list covers some of the topics to be presented at Eco-Architecture 2016. Papers on other subjects related to the objectives of the conference are also welcome.

Design with nature
Energy efficiency
Building technologies
Tall buildings and environment
Ecological impacts of materials
Biomaterials
Bioclimatic design
Water quality
Green facades
Ecological and cultural sensitivity
Education and training
Case studies
Design by passive systems
Adapted reuse
Life cycle assessment and durability
Transformative design
Sustainability indices in architecture
Bioclimatic design and passive systems
Recycle, reuse, reduce and recovery
Mixing it up and building flexibility
Architectural visualisation
New techniques: building information modelling