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ELEMENTS OF SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE

For sustainable architecture to become a reality, the way we design buildings needs to change. Many architects are concerned that sustainable
technologies may interfere with a building’s aesthetic appearance, and so these are often ‘added on’ once the design process is complete.
Elements of Sustainable Architecture solves this dilemma by helping students to develop the design skills they need to create sustainable buildings –
ensuring that ecological considerations are applied throughout the design process. Restoring the primacy of aesthetics and creativity to sustainable
design, the book focuses on strategies that have the greatest impact on building design. It also shows the influence of sustainability considerations on
choices about aspects such as composition, form, space, tectonics, materials, colour, textures, proportion and position.
Specifically designed to offer a new way of understanding architecture, the book:
• introduces students to the basic principles and methods of sustainable design;
• features current examples and inspiring case studies to support learning step by step;
• presents information in a visually appealing, intuitive, easy-to-understand way;
• includes over 500 high-quality colour diagrams, drawings, sketches and photographs.
A clear, visual introduction to creating aesthetically beautiful and sustainable buildings, this is essential reading for students in sustainable architecture
courses.

Rosa Urbano Gutiérrez is Senior Lecturer at the Liverpool School of Architecture, where she teaches design studio and environmental sciences. Her
research interest is sustainable architectural design through the exploration of emergent materials and technologies. She holds a PhD from the Madrid
School of Architecture, a master’s degree in design from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and has previously worked as Research Scholar at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Her latest book, Sustainable Retrofits: Post-War Residential Towers in Britain (with Asterios Agkathidis; 2017),
is published by Routledge.

Laura de la Plaza Hidalgo is an architect and urban planner specialising in sustainability. Throughout her professional career, she has participated in the
design of master plans and the construction of buildings that have obtained certification of sustainability seals such as LEED or AENOR, and has also
taught urban planning and sustainable construction at the School of Architecture of the Pontifical University of Salamanca. She holds a master’s degree
in urban planning from Carlos III University and another in sustainable cities from the Technical University of Madrid.
ELEMENTS OF SUSTAINABLE
ARCHITECTURE

Rosa Urbano Gutiérrez and Laura de la Plaza Hidalgo

First published 2020
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2020 Rosa Urbano Gutiérrez and Laura de la Plaza Hidalgo
The right of Rosa Urbano Gutiérrez and Laura de la Plaza Hidalgo to be identified as authors of this
work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form
or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are
used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Urbano Gutiérrez, Rosa, author. | De la Plaza Hidalgo, Laura, author.
Title: Elements of sustainable architecture / Rosa Urbano Gutiérrez and Laura de la Plaza Hidalgo.
Description: New York : Routledge, 2020. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019028926 (print) | LCCN 2019028927 (ebook) | ISBN 9780815367826 (hardback) |
ISBN 9780815367833 (paperback) | ISBN 9781351256445 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Sustainable architecture—Designs and plans.
Classification: LCC NA2542.36 .U73 2020 (print) | LCC NA2542.36 (ebook) | DDC 720/.47—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019028926
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019028927
ISBN: 978-0-8153-6782-6 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-8153-6783-3 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-351-25644-5 (ebk)
Typeset in Helvetica
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
CONTENTS

viii Acknowledgements

1–6 Introduction

7 Territorial and urban elements

9 Introduction to territorial and urban elements

10–11 ID Designing with climate and terrain

12–13 DO Positioning in the territory: climate and topography
14–15 DO City limits
16–17 DO Landscape: protection, design

18–19 ID Designing with constructed elements

20–21 DO Building height
22–23 DO Typologies and buildable depths
24–25 DO Use distribution

26–27 ID Designing with voids

28–29 DO Urban green spaces
30–31 DO Urban green spaces design
32–33 DO Street design

34–35 ID Designing with the human factor

36–37 DO Population: density and heterogeneity
38–39 DO Transport
40–41 DO Noise

42–43 ID Designing with networks

44–45 DO Water supply
46–47 DO Energy supply

48–49 ID Designing through urban management

50–51 DO Urban planning agents
52–53 DO New urban development
54–55 DO Renovation of an urban area
Contents

57 Natural elements

59 Introduction to natural elements

60–63 ID Designing with earth

64–65 DO Earth sheltering
66–67 DO Earth architecture
68–69 DO Ground and water source heat pumps

70–71 ID Designing with living elements

72–73 DO Energy-efficient landscape design
74–75 DO Green roofs
76–77 DO Green walls
78–79 DO Photobioreactors and aquaponics

80–81 ID Designing with air

82–85 DO Passive ventilation design
86–87 DO Air quality
88–89 DO Wind turbines

90–91 ID Designing with sunlight

92–95 DO Daylighting design
96–97 DO Passive solar heating
98–101 DO Solar control: daylighting technologies
102–103 DO Building integrated photovoltaics

104–105 ID Designing with water

106–107 DO Trombe water walls and roof ponds
108–109 DO Rainwater harvesting
110–111 DO Fog harvesting
112–113 DO Water reusing/recycling
114–115 DO Passive and active evaporative cooling

117 Material elements

119 Introduction to material elements

120–121 ID Designing with natural fibres

122–123 DO Wood
124–125 DO Bamboo
126–127 DO Hemp

128–129 ID Designing with products derived from wood

130–131 DO Cork
132–133 DO Paper

134–135 ID Designing with metals

136–137 DO Steel
138–139 DO Aluminium

vi
 Contents

140–141 ID Designing with stone materials

142–143 DO Stone
144–145 DO Concrete
146–147 DO Ceramics

148–149 ID Designing with translucent materials

150–151 DO Glass
152–153 DO ETFE

154–155 ID Designing with textile materials

156–157 DO Textile fabrics
158–159 DO Smart textiles

161 Case studies

162–166 CS Case Study 01 City Council House 2

167–170 CS Case Study 02 METI Handmade School
171–174 CS Case Study 03 Tara House
175–178 CS Case Study 04 Umwelt Arena
179–184 CS Case Study 05 Nest We Grow
185–191 CS Case Study 06 Malmö Ecocity
192–198 CS Case Study 07 Recovery and transformation of Valdemingómez’s landfill into
Valdemingómez’s Forest Park and Waste Management Centre

199 Appendix
201–206 Further readings and resources by section
207–214 Figure credits
215–218 Index

vii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We are most grateful for the help received from a number of people in preparing and researching this book:
• University of Liverpool’s School of the Arts Research Development Initiative Funding committee, for their funding and support
• The Liverpool School of Architecture, especially Heads of Department Prof Andre Brown and Prof Soumyen Bandyopadhyay, for their inspiring
insights and their always encouraging advice on this project
• Our research assistants, who helped us document the projects discussed in the book and produce invaluable drawings: Marcela Parra, Nevena
Draganova and, especially, our most sincere thanks to Francesca Sorrentino and Marta Serrano Pérez
• Rosana Rubio Hernández, with whom we had the opportunity to discuss the structure and vision of the book in its initial development: our warmest
thanks for her time and input to this project
• All the people who have generously dedicated time to share with us instrumental information for our research and who gave us permission to use
their images, crucial to the intrinsic concept of this book: all the scholars, architectural practices, photographers and the different institutions who
helped us shape the book and whose contributions are individually acknowledged in the Figure Credits list
• The Routledge team, Jennifer Schmidt and Trudy Varcianna, for making the production of this book a very easy and enjoyable journey, as well as the
reviewers, who generously provided feedback in different stages, critical in the final version of the manuscript
Finally, we would like to warmly thank our families, for bearing with us during this process.
Rosa would like to dedicate this book to Eduardo and Arvo.
Laura would like to dedicate this book to Alicia.
INTRODUCTION

Our approach to sustainable design
Very recently, the practice of architecture has started to focus on a
comprehensive environmental perspective of the building due to the
significant impact that the building construction industry and the actual
operation of buildings have on our natural environment. Today, the
figures speak for themselves: the construction industry consumes 50%
of our natural resources and 40% of all energy consumed (including
energy for use), it produces 30–40% of the greenhouse gases emitted
in our atmosphere, and generates 50% of the waste produced by all
human activities. While drastically reducing the consumption of energy
in use is still the most important factor in sustainability, it is clear that we
also need to substantially reduce our environmental impact in relation to
waste production, building materials and systems, and consumption of
natural resources like vegetation, soil, and especially water.
Despite the fact that designing from a green perspective is imperative,
the integration of sustainable strategies into architecture is not as
ubiquitous as desirable. While the definition of sustainability set in
the Bruntland Report for the World Commission on Environment and
Development (1992) calls for ‘development that meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs’, recent United Nations reports have included other
key parameters in this definition: fairness, social justice, and greater
access to a better quality of life (i.e. decent jobs and the elimination of
poverty). The 2005 World Summit of Social Development identified that
this goal of sustainable development should be addressed from three
perspectives, considered the three pillars of sustainability, also known as
the three Ps: profit (economic perspective), people (social perspective),
and planet (environmental perspective).
The broad scope of the term ‘sustainability’ is regarded by many
architects as too complex and extensive in its implications (legal,
economic, political, social, environmental, cultural, technological, etc.)
to be objectively applied in the field of architecture. Even within the
design realm, the term still seems to entail the informed coordination
of many actors, such as accreditation systems, regulations,
assessment methods, continually changing software tools, or emergent
sophisticated technologies, materials, and services. Within this context,
sustainability appears to be just a collection of generic advices, not
an effective methodology intrinsic to the actual design process. The
fact is that a good part of the architectural and urban planning design
produced in the world today still does not qualify as sustainable
in environmental terms; that is, it is not planned to reduce energy
consumption and ecological impact.

The architectural practice engaged

with sustainable design has mostly
evolved following two paths: one
explores passive methods based
on local responses to the building’s
context by designing with form
ARCHITECTURAL and low-impact technologies;
the other concentrates on active
DESIGN methods involving technologies
that combine sensors, new
materials, and digital processes to
create increasingly more complex,
sophisticated, and expensive
Legislation
solutions, which are accessible
Politics
Culture
to only a few privileged practices
Technology and clients. Industry and research
Assessment standarts centres are certainly producing
a diverse range of sustainable
technologies and materials, but
the specifications of these systems
BEARABLE EQUITABLE are primarily determined by the
scientific perspective of efficiency
SUSTAINABLE
and disregard fundamental design
Material resources
Management concerns and interests. Hence, they
Fosil resources
Pollution Investment are hardly envisioned as a source
VIABLE
Toxicity for inspiration and creativity. At the
Waste moment, environmental technologies
Energy consumption are mainly understood as an
extra service related to the energy
performance of the building, which
at best is incorporated at the end of
the building’s design process.
However, in recent years, it has
become increasingly clear that
the weighty consequences of this
segregation between architectural
Figure 0.1 Diagram showing some of the key parameters to coordinate sustainability and architectural and design and technical sustainable
urban design. developments could be mitigated
©Authors. by a more vigorous engagement of
INTRODUCTION

Sustainable Technologies

Development

Construction

Construction
Construction
Schematic

Drawings
Initiation

Design

Details
Design

End of
1:500

1:100

1:50
1:50
Figure 0.2 Diagram showing the building production stages, with the implementation of sustainable technologies at the end of the process or even after
the building is completed.
©Authors.

architects, where the education of the young designer plays a key role.
As a first step, the need for a new method has been acknowledged for
educating and designing with sustainability that restores the primacy
of form in architecture, reinforcing the designer’s competencies in the
field. If we want sustainability to be fully connected to our contemporary
architecture, it is also crucial to approach its education from an aesthetic
and cultural point of view. Many architects are reluctant to consider
sustainable strategies because they think these represent a set of alien
devices or measures that distort their project’s concept and appearance.
In order to control the aesthetic impact of these strategies and make
their integration viable, architects should be involved in the actual
‘product design process’ and show a holistic coordination of design and
sustainable performance. The building’s design (i.e. form, materiality,
insertion in urban or natural landscape) should respond to the building’s
ecological character.
To address this problem, there is an increasing demand for
the implementation of sustainability in architecture, requiring a
transformation in the architectural design techniques and a new
way of approaching the building project. Such a scenario presents
an important challenge for academic environments, where it is
necessary to create an appropriate educational structure to promote
awareness of sustainable strategies and develop the necessary
design skills required of architecture students. In schools of
architecture, we are still debating strategies to generate a more
fluent and efficient studio applications of the knowledge developed
in the technology and environmental design courses. From our point
of view, to support this transition, it is essential to rely on a clear
and accessible didactic tool that provides this new perspective and
that is specifically designed to present a fresh way to understanding
architecture.
To this end, Elements of Sustainable Architecture aims to offer a
clear visual guide to introduce students to the basic concepts and
strategies of sustainable architectural design. The book is intended
for use in university design studios and in seminar- or lecture-based
courses, as a book that students will want to consult throughout the
undergraduate degree process. The driving idea behind it is not only to
contribute towards the proliferation of sustainable buildings by making
efficient strategies to save energy, water and material resources more
accessible to the designer but also to do so without neglecting proper
reflection on aesthetical and qualitative architectural values. This book
is not interested in describing the ‘big picture’, addressing the social,
economical or political aspects of sustainability that indeed affect
architecture globally but whose translation into its design impact has
not been defined. In contrast, the focus of our book is upon strategies
that have the greatest impact on architectural operations and that
therefore should be considered from the beginning of the design
process.
Naming the different sustainable strategies as ‘elements’ is not
fortuitous. We very carefully decided to use the term ‘element’ in
the book’s title since it conveys several meanings that rigorously
suit our vision: as a ‘distinguishable entity that is a single member
of a set’ and something that provides the ‘rudiments of a subject’.
From all the term’s definitions, the one that is particularly keen to
understanding it is ‘a small but significant amount of a feeling or
quality’ and ‘an essential or characteristic part of something’. As
something that is an integral or essential part, the term ‘elements’
reinforces the idea that the assimilation of sustainable issues into
the design process can (and should) be an integral part of the
architectural project. As such, the sustainable issue is ‘necessary
to make a whole complete’, that is, to make the design project
complete. We believe that this is the way sustainability will coexist
with architecture in a near future.
This book therefore takes as its main goal the identification, compilation,
articulation and representation of the Design Elements derived from the
application of fundamental sustainable concepts in architecture. In other
words, it analyses the implications of translating ecological benefits into
design operations that will affect our choices regarding composition,
form, space, tectonics, materials, colour, textures, proportion, position or
relationships in the built environment.
The resulting collection of Design Elements conveying sustainable
concepts is not intended to propose a formulaic solution with single
formal responses to each of the many aspects of such a complex
subject as sustainability. On the contrary, it is intended to bring to
the forefront a selection of examples in which creativity and design-
driven thinking have achieved efficient sustainable solutions. The book
revolves around expressing and detailing, through diagrams, drawings
and photographs, design alternatives that make design features out of
environmental, regulatory, and technical issues related to sustainability.
In the same sense, the book does not intend to become a manifesto of
sustainable architecture or a fixed map of solutions but a handbook of
essential design operations and a reference for sustainable solutions
in which design is paramount. And, most importantly, its main role
is to provide the information needed to allow the designer to make

2

judgements about the appropriate use of the sustainable strategies
presented here.
Elements of Sustainable Architecture is therefore envisioned as a first
step to help to identify and understand, in a synergistic yet simplified
way, possible lines of work in which the designer has an active
role. We hope that designers will be able to realistically incorporate
the strategies presented in their design work and that the selected
illustrations will not only support that integration but also promote the
emergence of new ideas. Ultimately, thanks to its detailed case studies,
the book aims to be an inspiring source, a design process–oriented
guide that hopefully will stimulate more sustainable approaches in the
studio.
Toward this end, we believe that a visual design guide is crucial, with
information predominantly expressed through architectural means
and presented in an appealing, useful and effective way: through
high-resolution line drawings, sketches, diagrams and photographs
of sustainable design from contemporary solutions. As an educational
instrument for architecture students, a handbook should privilege
intuitive, visual and easily understood information on energy facts,
avoiding the less visual formats of our profession. Much of the
existing literature about sustainable design presents its information
in writing and does not regard the effectiveness of graphical
information as an important issue (lacking critical representation and
using either small, low-resolution, black-and-white or too technical
images). Hence another fundamental goal of this handbook is to use
appropriate graphics that support the aesthetic values and qualities
of the Architectural Elements involved in the building’s energy
performance.
To conclude, we ultimately aim to encourage students to be aware of
the key role of design in achieving culturally stimulating, environmentally
efficient buildings.
How to use this book
Obviously, as a primer, Elements of Sustainable Architecture cannot
comprehensively cover every aspect of sustainable design, and
compromises have inevitably been made when addressing the
question of depth versus breadth. Since we seek to expose strategies
that have the greatest impact on design expression, we didn’t include
those we see as having limited potential or flexibility to promote
creative design. Examples are some of the more technical aspects of
the building, such as HVAC or lighting system design. As previously
explained, we present strategies that strongly influence decisions
related to such aspects as territorial organisation, building form and
planning and building envelope, therefore applying to very different
scales.
In identifying and organising the Design Elements, it is difficult to split the
subject of sustainable architecture into distinct silos. Not every aspect
can be neatly pigeonholed in a single category; some are specific, but
others share applications in more than one area of the building. Some
materials are also considered technologies, or systems. In recognition
of the fact that this is precisely one of the biggest challenges, a critical
didactic contribution of this book is to set the criteria to select, organise
and display this information.
The graphical character of the guide, essentially composed of
annotated drawings, photographs and diagrams rather than long
textual explanations, quickly lent itself to a synthesised approach to the
description of each Element of sustainable architecture, following the
format of data sheets. In a way, we have envisioned this book as if it
were a visual dictionary of sustainable concepts.
This vision enabled a more direct conveyance of the message, that is,
of each of the sustainable concepts, as well as providing the desired
source of inspiration. This also implied that the book only introduces
designers to the different strategies. In this regard, we hope that our
‘Further Readings and Resources by Section’ chapter will offer sufficient
INTRODUCTION
sources for more detailed and insightful technical and analytical data for
each strategy.
The collection of sustainable design strategies – our selection of
Elements of sustainable architecture – configures the main body of the
book. This main section is subdivided into three categories according
to the types of contexts from which the building receives inputs and
to which it releases outputs. These take the shape of three chapters:
‘Territorial and Urban Elements’, ‘Natural Elements’ and ‘Material
Elements’. These three categories, in turn, relate, to a greater or lesser
extent, to three scales of operation: cities, building sites, and buildings
(envelope and interior environment and materiality).
Each of the three main chapters organises its design strategies
according to a range of overarching design themes, creating sections
within the chapter. Each of these sections displays its contents using two
types of pages: ‘Introduction to Designing with . . .’ (ID) pages, which
opens each of the sections, and the ‘Design Operations’ (DO) section,
which consists of the actual data sheets used to describe each Design
Elements and give examples.
The book presents a total of 49 Elements of sustainable architecture
that we believe are worthy of consideration for sustainable building
projects. As previously explained, these Elements are presented in
a consistent format: each one includes a description of the principle
and concept, summarises the advantages and challenges of using
the Element, provides suggestions for integrating the strategy into a
sustainable design and offers detailed information in a relevant case
study. Conceptual sketches and examples illustrate each Element. To
further the goal of integrative design, each Element is linked to relevant
complementary Elements. References to further information are included
in ‘Further Readings and Resources by Section’ at the end of the
book, which is structured by Elements and follows the same order of
appearance.
How can this book support the designer
in making the right decisions?
Despite presenting the 49 Elements as separate data sheets, the book
doesn’t promote the idea that these strategies are independent of
one another. Some of the Design Elements may complement others
and clash with still others, depending on the project’s particular
circumstances. Nothing is either right or wrong in absolute terms: being
sustainable is often about reaching a compromise. For instance, it is
generally agreed that placing part of the building underground reduces
the heating load because the surrounding earth provides thermal
modulation. What seems to be a benefit for the building might not be
a sensible strategy in specific scenarios, for example, in sites where
the water content in the soil is so high as to compromise the building’s
structural integrity. So we have to be aware of all the implications, since
one Design Element might be suitable for one aspect of the project but
bring negative consequences to other aspects or be counterproductive
in one context and beneficial in another. As with any other design
operation, designers should judge which Element is appropriate in each
context.
To assist you with your decisions, ‘Introduction to Designing with . . .’,
presented at the beginning of each section, contains information to
help designers make their assessments. Some factors are particularly
relevant to in determining how suitable an Element might be for
a project, for example, climate considerations or the Element’s
environmental profile. To present this information, we ask and answer
two questions: ‘What is . . .?’ and ‘What is the life cycle assessment and
environmental profile of . . .?’
The Elements contained in the ‘What Is . . .?’ section are briefly defined
and introduced, providing a list of applications and strategies to move
their sustainable development forward. The ‘Life Cycle Assessment and
Environmental Profile’ section offers an evaluation of the environmental
impact of each of the Elements, using life cycle assessment (LCA) and
environmental profile (EP) methodologies.
3
INTRODUCTION

What do life cycle assessment and environmental profile mean?
According to BRE (UK Building Research Establishment), life cycle
assessment is defined in their Green Guide to Specification as:
A form of system analysis in which a product, system, process
or service is assessed against environmental impact categories
over a defined period.
The construction of buildings involves many material and energy
processes that are normally assessed in five chronological stages:
material extraction, material manufacturing and processing,
implementation of materials in the building, use of the building and
the end of the useful life of the building (dismantling and disposing of
materials). All these stages have an impact not only on the environment
but also on the other two Ps of People and Profit, which, as we said,
must be considered alongside Planet in order to achieve sustainable
development.
The LCA method offers a tool to obtain an objective and contrastable
value that can tell us how sustainable a certain product, system, process
or service is. These values can then be interpreted and contrasted
against standards (such as the ISO standard, the European CEN or
the German DIN), although this is a highly complex procedure that
very much relies on the assessment of each impact category yielding
trustworthy data. In recent years, a number of agencies have developed
different LCA protocols to offer this service: BREEAM, CASBEE, DGNB,
Green Star, HQE, LEED, MINERGIE, among others, are certification
bodies that issue green labels and certify the level of sustainability of
projects, materials, components and buildings. This process is assisted
by software tools (i.e. Bees, Ecobiswingis, Envest, Legep, Ogip, Snarc,
Vitruvius, Wingis, etc.), which require specific training.
In this book, we do not enter into any detailed LCA process, but we use
the basic principles of this method to provide an initial assessment of
design strategies based on current available data, which is displayed in
the ID part of each of the three main chapters.
Next we explain the impact categories (most of which the previously
mentioned protocols also take into account) that have to be considered
in each of the stages.

Planet
The impact categories that help us to assess the repercussions on the planet of a project, material, building component or building are:
• Consumption of and impact on material resources, including mineral extraction (amount of mineral resources’ collateral effects such as noise,
contamination and deterioration of the landscape); water consumption; and deforestation (wood consumption).
• Consumption of fossil fuels (depletion of this limited resource).
• Pollution (climate change or global warming, destruction of the ozone layer, summer smog, acid deposition or acid rain and eutrophication).
• Human- and eco-toxicity released into the atmosphere and water, affecting human health and seriously disrupting ecosystems.
• Waste (landfill sites, the noise and smells emanating from them, their toxic emissions, seepages and gases from incineration plants).
• Embodied energy (EE) or primary energy content is a methodology for evaluating the energy employed in the processes of the extraction of the raw
materials, as well as processes related to the manufacturing, processing, transportation, installation, maintenance and disposal of those materials. It
does not include the energy employed in the construction and maintenance of the auxiliary equipment needed for its installation or the energy of the
workforce.
All these categories, added together, make up what is called the environmental
profile (EP) of a project, material, component or building, and it helps us to
understand the level of sustainability of each Element in the different ID pages of Sustainability + +
the book.

People Planet People

Certain categories affect our health and well-being that sustainable design also
has to consider: physical aspects such as comfort (thermal, visual, acoustic, LCA & EP LCC
olfactory) but also social aspects (social integration, accessibility, etc.). Assements Assesment

Profit
The category that evaluates the impact on the economy (profit) is called the life-
cycle cost (LCC). This quantifies the economic cost of all the LCA processes. Material
resources
We also believe that it would be desirable that the LCA methods began to
evaluate other categories not taken into account so far. An example is the Fosil
creation of quality jobs during all stages of the life cycle of the building, bringing resources
higher wages and job security, promoting social relations and individual
self-realisation, generating a direct positive influence on people and, as a Pollution
consequence, on the economy (profit), thus promoting sustainability.
Human
All these impact categories are equally important in relation to the planet, people
toxicity
and profit. Given the scope of this book, however, we focus just on those having
an impact on our Planet, as reference values in assessing the sustainability of the
Element categories and case studies in this volume. Waste

In the ID pages, this information is listed in two categories of the Element’s

Embodied
LC: advantages and challenges. To complement this information, the aspects
Energy (EE)
considered to be of greatest relevance in the environmental profile are displayed LCA EP
independently through further tables, images or diagrams where other factors
that are critical in assessing the suitability of an Element, such as climate Figure 0.3 Diagram showing the relationship between sustainability
conditions, are also analysed. All this information is provided to help the designer and the concepts of LCA, EP and LCC assessments.
make informed and responsible choices. ©Authors.

4

In the DO data sheets for each Element, we analyse a selection of
illustrative design applications with a good environmental profile. The
key points given in the ID pages and the clarifications provided by the
examples in the DO data sheets should help to identify and imagine
many more possibilities. Also, the bibliography and webgraphy at the
end of the book will encourage designers to undertake further reading
about the contents of each chapter. The selected examples fulfil some
of the requirements we have identified as strategic to work towards
a sustainable architecture, that is resource-efficient, energy-efficient,
non-polluting or harmful and/or waste reducing. Note that some of
the examples are high-tech solutions, while others are updated, low-
tech, traditional techniques: both types coexist or are even hybridised.
We wanted to reflect a complete set of design possibilities across
an efficiency performance panorama at different scales of operation:
from nanoengineering technologies to the rational use of architectural
INTRODUCTION
means, such as understanding how to position a building in a territory,
learning how to analyse a site or choosing an adequate building
typology.
Notes
1. To express the building’s position relative to the sun, in this book our
general reference is our location in the Northern Hemisphere. Any
use of specific cardinal points (north, east, south, west) is therefore
related to this location. When describing each case study, its location
will be explicitly presented, and reference to cardinal points will be
related to that location.
2. The metric system used in this book is the International System of
Units (SI).
5
TERRITORIAL AND URBAN ELEMENTS
INTRODUCTION TO TERRITORIAL AND URBAN ELEMENTS
Currently, half of the population lives in cities, and this proportion is
constantly increasing, so when we talk about sustainability, the design of
cities is a crucial issue.
Because cities are very complex systems, the main difficulty in achieving
sustainable cities is the huge number of actors involved in their design
and planning: governmental bodies at the municipal, regional and
national scales; technical specialists from different disciplines (such as
architects, engineers, sociologists or economists); and private initiatives
and civic associations. Each of them has to make decisions that will
affect the other areas.
In view of this situation, it would seem logical to have a supervisory
body to coordinate all these entities. Currently, this work falls mainly on
the shoulders of various governmental authorities that are not always
coordinated and whose main priority is all too often to solve the most
pressing problems. In such circumstances, strategic long-term policies
that would allow cities to become increasingly sustainable often take a
back seat.
It is also important to emphasise that the phrase ‘sustainability
strategies’ refers not only to urban areas but to the entire territory. This is
due to the importance of protecting areas classified as having interesting
value (i.e. landscape, agriculture, fauna), as well as the fact that natural
areas are the main sources of supply of our basic needs (clean air and
water, energy and food) and support our lives in urban environments.
Another difficulty when we talk about sustainability in cities is the fact that
most of the land is urbanised – built and inhabited – implying that its
transformation has high complexity and cost, not only economic but also
social.
The driving message behind this introduction is that any responsible
designer who is aware of the issues that should be considered to
achieve a more sustainable territory must keep in mind that any decision
regarding a given area will impact on other areas. For example, making a
decision about the population density that an urban development must
have will have an impact on the use of cars by citizens: low densities are
often associated with an increase in the use of private vehicles, given
the higher distance to services (i.e. schools, shops). In turn, this has an
impact on noise and air pollution levels.
To add another level of difficulty to urban planning decisions, analysing
an issue from different standpoints sometimes leads to contradictory
conclusions. For instance, when thinking about the best position
to place a building, decisions based on solar orientation can be
completely different from those made from the point of view of noise
protection.
In this sense, new technologies are very helpful because they allow
technical experts and even citizens to participate in the update of
the databases available to planners, who then are able to offer better
responses to real problems. Similarly, GISs (geographic information
systems) allow the simultaneous comparison and cross-checking of
many different types of analysis.
Having made this clarification, to deal with this question more easily, we
have divided the analysis of territorial sustainability into areas that can
be examined separately, even though many of the Design Elements are
clearly interrelated.
Therefore, before making a decision on urban planning, it is necessary to
analyse each of the aspects that inform the design intervention (climate,
topography, energy, transportation, etc.), extract conclusions from each
of them and contrast them, that is, match Elements from various points
of view and prioritise those that yield contradictory results, depending on
the characteristics of each project.
In this chapter, we present a total of 17 Design Elements, organised
according to each of the six sections included in the ‘Territorial and
Urban Elements chapter’: (1) Designing with Climate and Terrain, (2)
Designing with Constructed Elements, (3) Designing with Voids, (4)
Designing with the Human Factor, (5) Designing with Networks and (6)
Designing Through Urban Management. The information is offered in the
following order.
The beginning of each ID section presents an introduction to the subject
and briefly explains a list of related topics. It also explains how this
subject is related to or interferes with others in order to enable you to
hierarchise different problems because one design cannot optimally
solve each of the issues affecting the sustainability of cities. In every
situation, it will be necessary to assess and judge which aspect is more
important, and the life cycle assessment and environmental profile are
intended to help in this process.
Finally, every strategy is presented in ‘Design Operations’ (DO), providing
a more comprehensive description of the Design Element, which is
illustrated with an example when appropriate.
DESIGNING WITH CLIMATE AND TERRAIN

This section analyses the diverse factors that need to be studied when a new
urban development is planned.
Since each territory is an extremely complex system, it will be necessary to
N
be conscious of all the issues affecting it. To make an informed decision,
a lot of factors of diverse nature need to be taken into account, from the
merely physical ones, like orography or climate, to more intangible ones, like
economic or social aspects.

Hierarchy of the diverse factors

The first problem to face, once all the issues are identified, is that it is impossible
to give the optimal solution for all of them or even solve some of them at all. There
is no unique answer to this question. Each case must be assessed individually:
• It is necessary to make an individual analysis of each factor that must to
be taken into account and draw a separate conclusion.
Figure 1.1 Diagram showing factors related to operating in the • After this, in each case, all these individual conclusions have to be
territory. studied together and a decision made about which factors are a
©Authors. priority, depending on the nature of the development and the unique
characteristics of the territory.

Relationship with other sections

In addition to the Design Elements developed in this section, to complete the analysis, other variables studied in other sections should also be taken into
consideration, as they are also important in making an appropriate decision on settlement location:
• Questions related to urban density, building typologies and heights
• Issues related to building use and population heterogeneity
• Relationships among infrastructure, transport and noise sources

Positioning and operating in the territory design factors

Humidity
Positioning in the territory: mountain/valley, orientation
Mountain
N
When making a decision on the location of a new urban settlement, the
Orientation
Sun most immediate assessment to be considered is related to the physical
environment and its characteristics regarding:
• topography;
• existence of water bodies (rivers, seas etc.);
• orientation relative to the sun; and
• weather: temperature, relative humidity, rainfall and wind direction.
Valley
Rain and snow The study of these factors will inform a first step towards the appropriate
location for the new settlement.
Wind

Figure 1.2 Diagram showing factors related to climate and territory.

©Authors.

Constructed territory-cities: limits and relationships between cities

It is also necessary to analyse the existing urban centres and establish
Size
the relationship the new settlement will have with them. Depending on the
Relationship character desired for the new development, it is necessary to decide whether
with environment it will be a separate core or dependent on a larger city, which requires a
Distance Limits decision on the proper distance between old and new.
Limits
Distance Furthermore, it is also necessary to think about the relationship established
Density between the new urban development and the surrounding natural
environment: will it present as a defined boundary, and is it envisioned
as a high-density development, so that the amount of land transformed
will be as little as possible? Or, on the contrary, is it envisioned as a more
integrated solution within the natural landscape?

Figure 1.3 Diagram showing factors related to the constructed territory.

©Authors.

10
 Designing with climate and terrain

Natural territory – landscape:

protection, design Protection
It is also important to examine the landscape surrounding the area of the new
development, specifically looking at:
• identifying those areas that should be respected and exempted from Point of view
transformation owing to their high value;
Connections
• not interrupting any green routes connecting the natural areas in order to
avoid inbreeding problems within the existing flora and fauna; and
• preserving the natural aesthetic values of the landscape. Design
We should also study the different points of view that allow the landscape to
be enjoyed and avoid to degrading them with the new settlement.

Figure 1.4 Diagram showing factors related to landscape.

©Authors.

Territory attributes: relationship with economic activity (smart lands)

Finally, the new development has to be put within the existing economic Smart
lands
context by:
• assessing the intrinsic qualities of the territory to try to establish a
competitive advantage over them, in terms of natural resources, strategic Energy Natural
location etc.; sources resources
Strategic
• analysing energy supply possibilities offered by the territory; and location Relationship
• studying the economic structure of the existing urban areas to develop a between
cities
strategy that supports a good relationship with them.

Figure 1.5 Diagram showing factors related to economic activity.

©Authors.

Life cycle assessment and environmental profile

Raw material extraction
Manufacturing
Construction
Operation and maintenance
Reuse or recycling
The correct choice for the location of a new urban development can lead to savings in the amount of land that must
be transformed if the proximity to existing infrastructures for goods supply and transportation are adequate, since
this will not involve the construction of additional infrastructures.
A proper choice for the location of a new urban development will demand a respectful approach towards the
territory, so the intervention requires less earthwork with the consequent savings in processing and the ability to
‘recycle territory’ if necessary.
A new urban development that is successfully oriented to the sun and climate-based designed generates lower
loads in all energy uses.
Respecting and empowering the valuable elements of the territory (in economic, aesthetic and landscaping terms)
will produce a territory that maintains its long-term value, becomes autonomous and supports the balance between
the level of processing activity (transformation) and the land’s original values.

11
POSITIONING IN THE TERRITORY: CLIMATE AND TOPOGRAPHY

Before starting the design of a new urban 50

PROBABLE SUNSTROKE li
development, it is essential to analyse the land m
it
of
7,17 w
where it will be settled to ensure that the proposal

DRYBULB TEMPERATURE (ºC)

or

lim
k

it
of

of
will be sustainable. In this respect, being aware of 6,45 m PROBABLE HEATSTROKE

w
od

in
gr
er

d
5,73
the climate in that area is crucial. Climate is defined at

ai

+
n
e

m
s
in

oi
of
te

st
as a measure of the average pattern of variation in 5,02 ns

ur
oi
40 ity

e
st
ur
4,30
temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind,

e/
kg
precipitation and other meteorological variables in a

of
3,58

ai
r
2,87
given region over long periods of time.
2,15
To produce climate-conscious design, it is key 25
to identify the local weather conditions and to 30
26
27
assess the level of comfort they provide in order 28
m/s km/h
to determine whether additional heat or ‘coolth’ Summer 3,5 12,6
1,43 3,0 10,8
(heating, cooling) will be needed for the buildings. It CONFORT ZONE
2,5 9,0
2,0 7,2

WIND
is highly recommended to use methods like the one 0,72 Winter 1,5 5,4
1,0 3,6
proposed by Victor Olgyay, the bioclimatic chart, 0,5 1,6
SHADING LINE 0,1 0,3
which promotes “working with and not against natural 20

forces and mak[ing] use of their potential to create

15 W
better living conditions”. Olgyay’s bioclimatic chart
identifies different levels of comfort for a particular 2.0 CLO
30

region/area, looking at the maximum and minimum

RADIATION
45
temperatures and the relative humidity in each month.
10 60
This data allows to take corrective actions before
75
beginning to design the building, like selecting the best 3.0 CLO

orientation, altitude or position in the valley, mountains 90 W

or sea, to improve the building’s energy efficiency.

0
4.0 CLO
W

N 4.5 CLO

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
RELATIVE HUMIDITY (%)

Figure 1.6 Victor Olgyay’s bioclimatic chart.

S
©Authors.
E

Sunpath with respect to the geographic north

Figure 1.7 Diagram showing how each orientation
receives sunlight. Figure 1.7 shows that the orientations receiving the most sunlight are the south, southeast in
©Authors. the morning and southwest in the afternoon. The north side barely receives any solar radiation.

d d+++
Topography
Topography, especially slope and orientation,
greatly influences the temperature conditions
of the site.

Southern slope Northern slope Soil warming depends on the angle of

incidence of the solar radiation. This is greater
Figure 1.8 Diagram showing required distance between buildings according to slope orientation.
the lower the angle between these rays and
©Authors.
the greater the perpendicular to the ground
plane. This angle is not fixed but varies with
Maximum radiation the season and the hour of the day.
Minimum radiation

Average radiation The ideal situation is to orientate the building

to receive the maximum radiation in cold
months and the minimum in the warm
Sunny side
weather. To achieve this optimised solution,
Shady side
it is necessary to look at the bioclimatic
South - section direction - north chart for the different months of the year and
Figure 1.9 Diagram showing the amount of solar radiation according to the slope orientation. identify which months will need radiation and
©Authors. which will need shadow.

12
 Designing with climate and terrain

The wind as a correction design factor N

To assess climate comfort in the area of the new settlement, it is critical to know about not only
temperature and relative humidity but also the direction and intensity of the prevailing winds.
NO NE
It should be clarified that, when designing an urban development, the relevant winds are the local ones
in that particular area, which can be very different from those of neighbouring areas. Usually, it is not
easy to obtain data on these local winds, but whenever available, it should be represented in a wind
O E
rose (see Figure 1.10), which allows the urban designer to see how to improve climate comfort in the
area. As much as possible, wind movement should be facilitated in hot and dry climates and blocked in
cold climates.
SO SE
Also, the direction and intensity of winds may be different or even reversed in different moments of the
diurnal and annual cycles: day/night and summer/winter. Given the variable character of temperature,
changes due to season or time can play in favour of the designer, who can permit access to the
diurnal winds to mitigate heat and place barriers to the nocturnal ones in order to improve the thermal S
sensation when temperatures fall at night. Figure 1.10 Wind rose.
©Authors.

Designing with the main types of wind

Wind and altitude
Generally, placing a settlement on a high location implies a greater exposure to wind than in a more sheltered place in the valley. Wind helps to mitigate
the sensation of heat and to increase the sensation of cold. Therefore, depending on the climate, it is more suitable to place the urban development in
one area or another depending on the desired effect.

Wind behaviour in valleys

At sunrise, the sun warms the slopes faster than it does the bottom of the valley, causing updrafts. At sundown, the peaks are cooled more quickly, so
the air descends down the slopes to the bottom of the valley.

Sea breezes versus land breezes

Since the specific heat of water is higher than the specific heat of earth, during the day, the coastal land reaches a higher temperature, leading to sea
breezes blowing from the surface of the water to the land. At night, the process is reversed.

Mountain +

Valley temperature:

warmer
Valley -

colder

Plant barrier
to mitigate the
action of wind
Valley wind behaviour
at nightfall

Land breezes
Sea breezes

Valley wind behavior

at sunrise

Figure 1.11 Diagram showing factors related to climate and territory.

©Authors.

13
CITY LIMITS

The city limit is defined as the relationship between the natural environment and the constructed elements in a city edge.

Compact city Urban sprawl

The compact city is an urban planning concept that promotes
relatively high residential density with mixed land uses. It is based
on an efficient public transport system and has an urban layout
that encourages walking and cycling, low energy consumption and
reduced pollution.
Figure 1.13 describes the expansion of human populations away
from central urban areas into previously remote and rural areas, often
resulting in communities reliant upon heavy automobile usage.

City limits Commuting Commuting

distances
distances

City limits

Figure 1.12 Diagram showing the structure of a Figure 1.13 Diagram showing the structure of an
compact city. urban sprawl.
©Authors. ©Authors.

Legend: Legend:

It consumes less territory, which allows a correct density and This kind of town consumes a lot of territory because of its low
maximises investment. densities and the long distances between urban developments.

High density and mix use minimise the average distances in the It is usually characterised by a strong segregation of uses, which
urban fabric, which encourages walking and cycling. It also allows implies that the daily journeys will be longer, encouraging car usage.
the implementation of a network of public transport, minimising car It will also be difficult to design and support a network of public
use and thus requiring less infrastructure. transport.

High-density structures and the habit of walking and cycling promote the This type of development does not have sufficient density to create an
emergence of small retail places in public spaces (streets and squares). urban structure that allows for the generation of small trade.

The transition to the natural territory is more abrupt. The transition to natural territory occurs in a progressive way.

It does not enable a good relationship between humans and nature. It normally supports a better relationship between people and nature.

Compact city: nature and limits

From the point of view of sustainability, the compact city model is more appropriate, its main weakness being a lack of integration with nature. To
improve this aspect, it is advisable to build a green grid that overlaps the urban area and that joins parks and gardens in the city. This issue will be more
extensively developed in the section on green areas.

Ways to smooth the transition between

the countryside and the city:
(1) Graduate height by placing lower buildings in
(1)
the limits.

(2) Design vegetative barriers to mitigate the visual

(2)
impact on the landscape built space.

(3) Use the topography, placing the urban

development in the valley bottom, where it
(3)
is less visible. This decision must be taken
Figure 1.14 Diagram showing a compact Figure 1.15 Diagram showing transitions considering other conditions such as weather.
city with a green network. between cities and nature.
©Authors. ©Authors.

14
 Designing with climate and terrain

Urban growth
Urban growth is defined as the way in which an urban development occupies the natural landscape to meet new citizens’ demands for uses such as
residential, industrial commercial, among others.
This issue has a high environmental impact just because the transformation process and the development of land have a virtually irreversible character,
given that urbanizing a territory usually involves earthworks, vegetation removal, the modification of the subsoil to install infrastructures and the like.
Additionally, the environmental cost of constructing buildings should also be taken into account. For this reason, it is advisable to assess the possibility
of rehabilitating obsolete parts of the city before transforming natural soil. This question is further developed in the section on urban renovation.

New
settlements existing
city
green ring

Existing minimum
city distance
between them new
settlement
Urban
structure

Figure 1.16 Diagram showing the growth of the Figure 1.17 Diagram showing the creation of a new
existing city. settlement.
©Authors. ©Authors.

Growth of the existing city

To analyse this issue, it is important to understand that urban developments do not operate autonomously but are “fed” by the existing urban fabric,
in terms of using infrastructure, trade and other services. Since these facilities all have a limited capacity, the first thing to find out is whether they are
capable of servicing the new growth capacity.
If we choose to grow the existing city, it should be analysed so as to design the new development in a way that minimises the construction of new
energy and mobility networks and that respects the network of green corridors, if any are already present.
At times, the existing city is already congested or the dimensions of the new settlement indicates the design of a new independent village. To assure that the
new development will not be a “satellite” of the old one, it is crucial to control the distance between them, adopting strategies such as placing a green ring.

Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City

Singapore, 2009, TAN Chui Ching, Nina

Figure 1.19 General view of Buona Vista, Singapore. Figure 1.18 City plan.
Photograph ©chuttersnap via unsplash. ©Authors.

The Guangzhou Knowledge City’s master plan envisions a sustainable city for knowledge-based industries. Its design integrates a green network
throughout the city to facilitate contact with nature. The model mixes residential and tertiary uses, with the highest intensities placed around
transportation nodes.

15
LANDSCAPE: PROTECTION, DESIGN

Landscape is defined as an extension of land that is visible from one place.

This definition makes it seem that landscape is a cultural construct and that it does not refer to the
territory in its broadest sense, since it exists only if someone looks at it. It is important to clarify that
landscape is not the same as natural territory, since landscape may have a cultural, agricultural or
urban character but is defined in terms of the aesthetic value of contemplating a place.
Therefore, establishing the criteria to define what makes a landscape more or less sustainable is
not a simple matter. However, there are clear guidelines regarding conservation and empowerment
of the associated land values of a location, which, if possible, should be linked to local economic
activity, as explained in the following section about smart lands. This way, the existing wealth
in a place (whether it is natural, agricultural, mining, archaeological, etc.) will align with its visual
richness and with the livelihood of the people living there.

Figure 1.20 Miyajima Temple, Hiroshima, Japan, 1168.

©Authors.

Landscape types and land protection

The first operation to be performed on a territory, in order to decide on its landscape and how it can be enhanced, is the identification of those elements
that are worthy of being highlighted. Once this decision is taken, it becomes very important to protect them and prevent their transformation or to allow
only actions that will increase their intrinsic value.
The next step is to conduct a study on the viewable capacity of the landscape and improve this aspect if necessary.

Figure 1.21 Identification,

demarcation and protection
of interesting landscape
elements.
©Authors.

Figure 1.23 Oma forest in Basque Country, Spain,

1985, Agustin Ibarrola Painter and Sculptor.
©Authors.

Figure 1.22 Rice fields in Tsuruoka, Japan.
©Authors.
Agricultural landscapes
Agricultural landscapes are the result of the
interaction of agricultural and livestock activity
with the natural environment.
These landscapes may seem natural and
untransformed to the viewer. For this reason, it is
interesting to clarify that these kinds of territories
such as plantations have a high degree of cultural
and technological transformation to facilitate
irrigation, harvesting, etc.
Natural landscapes
Unspoilt nature is perhaps the most common
landscape image. In these sceneries, the
designer’s task is simply to preserve what is
already there.
The image shown is interesting for the way
a natural element (a forest) becomes a
landscape by creating pathways, landmarks
and signs that invite the observer to look in
certain ways.
Figure 1.24 Leptis Magna ruins in Tripoli, Libya.
©Authors.
Archaeological landscapes
Archaeological landscapes explore how
humans have interacted with the geographical
area over time.
Ruins are very interesting because they provide
elements of landscape and give it visual,
cultural and economic wealth.

16
 Designing with climate and terrain

Design operations

Design tips
(1) topographic and vegetation diversity
(3)
(2) Study of the visibility according to enabled
roads and topography.
(3) Placing recognizable landmarks.
(4) Use of natural elements like rivers.
(1)
(2)
(4)

Figure 1.25 Diagram showing the main parts of a landscape.

©Authors.

Landscape and smart lands

Smart lands should be understood as innovative territories capable of building their own competitive advantages in relation to their environment, within the
framework of a complex, global and interrelated world. Landscape protection and development present a closely related issue since a territory is ‘smarter’
when the intrinsic values of their landscapes are identified and empowered; therefore it is possible to get an economic, social and cultural benefit from them.
A territory can enjoy many features that can become a source of wealth such as the following.

Strategic situation Territorial elements Human resources

It is critical to consider the position of a territory
in relation to other towns and natural elements
(i.e. sea, rivers), which can make it suitable for a
particular use (i.e. retail, leisure, infrastructure).
Territorial elements are those having a greater Another important source of wealth in a territory
relationship with the landscape and natural is the education, whether technologically or
elements (lakes, rivers), farms and livestock, artistically, of its population.
archaeological ruins and interesting views and
panoramas and the like, which could become
an important source of wealth if properly valued.

Figure 1.26 Diagram depicting strategic location. Figure 1.27 Diagram explaining territorial elements. Figure 1.28 Diagram explaining human resources.
©Authors. ©Authors. ©Authors.

Caesarea Archaeological Park, Caesarea

Caesarea, Israel, 2006. Sholomo Aronson Architects
Caesarea was one of the main Roman towns in the eastern
Mediterranean. It was partially found by archaeologists in the 1960s,
and, more recently, a great hippodrome was recovered. The project
includes promenades that allow people to contemplate the ancient
structure and an archaeological garden. In this way, the landscape is
enriched by the ruins, and its use grants proper maintenance for them.

Figure 1.29 Aerial view.

Photograph ©Sholomo Aronson Architects.

Figure 1.30 Partial view of the ruins. Figure 1.31 Sketch of the view.
Photograph ©Sholomo Aronson Architects. Photograph ©Sholomo Aronson Architects.

17
DESIGNING WITH CONSTRUCTED ELEMENTS

This section analyses the factors involved in determining the

West shape of the buildings within the urban fabric.
Like most questions concerning sustainable design, there are
North no absolute solutions. Depending on the situation facing the
designer, some issues will prevail over others, but designers
should always aim to achieve the following targets:
• Land consumption should be as low as possible.
• Energy costs related to use and maintenance should be
minimised by using the right design and orientation of
South buildings.

East

Figure 1.32 Diagram showing factors related to constructed elements.

©Authors.

Hierarchy of the diverse factors

Since it is not always possible to reach an optimal solution for all issues, the designer must reach a compromise regarding:
• weather – sunlight and wind if it is significant enough to be taken into account;
• the predominant use of the master plan since each use has different requirements; and
• the required comfort level for the people who will inhabit the city.

Relationship with other sections

In addition to the factors developed in this section, more issues should be analysed to respond as adequately as possible to some other
aspects:
• Open spaces design, because both of them (constructed elements and voids) compose the city but also because open spaces can
greatly benefit buildings through design features such as the dimensions of these open spaces or the use of green barriers or water
bodies;
• The choice of materials to construct the buildings, both from the point of view of sustainable manufacturing and its ability to improve the energy
efficiency of the built elements; and
• Building position relative to the ground (raised over ground, at grade level, semi-recessed or underground), depending on weather and soil
composition.

Constructed elements design factors

Topography, buildings’ height and distance
between them
North When deciding the distance between constructed
elements, one of the most important aspects to consider
is ensuring adequate sun exposure to all floors of the
Less distance More distance building:

South Sun exposure depends on three factors:

• The height of the building itself, as well as the shadow it

Distance in a casts over its surroundings
horizontal plane • Solar orientation (Proper insolation on the north
slopes will consume more soil than on the southern
slope.)
• The inclination of the site (A steeper site allows for shorter
distances between buildings due to the unevenness in
Figure 1.33 Diagram showing the relationship between building height and topography. heights.)
©Authors.

18
 Designing with constructed elements

Heights and typologies High density

Open
Choosing the appropriate height and typology for a Medium tower block
building from the point of view of sustainability is not density
simple:
• High densities have as an advantage lower land
consumption since they can provide a larger number Closed
of needs within a smaller surface area, but their main block
disadvantage is the radical transformation of the Low
environment involved, as well as the level of maintenance density
often required in large areas of land surrounding the
development.
• It may seem that low densities generate less impact on
the land, but it actually requires much more surface area
to house the same number of uses and people, with the
corresponding transformation.
Single
• Medium densities are often the best option as they are
housing
a compromise between land consumption, maintenance
and citizens well-being.
Figure 1.34 Diagram showing different densities.
©Authors.

Typologies, buildable depths and sunlight

West Opening
For any typology, it is important to orientate the building degree of
properly, with the façade facing south receiving the most the facade
sunlight over the day, the one facing east receiving sunlight North
only in the morning, the one facing west receiving sunlight
South
only in the afternoon, and the one facing north hardly orientated
receiving any sunlight. Double
orientation
Usually the best choice, whenever possible, is to provide
doubly orientated solutions, although this produces other
problems related to distribution and a bigger consumption South Crossed
of land area. ventilation

The choice of some typologies as closed blocks presents a

particular difficulty since there are always two well oriented East
sides and two inefficiently illuminated sides.
The building orientation and typology selected should be
complemented with different treatments of the façades in
terms of openings and materials. Figure 1.35 Diagram showing different typologies.
©Authors.

Uses distribution
With the exception of some uses dangerous for human
health, such as heavy industry, it is usually more sustainable
to design mixed-uses towns:
• It is more likely that the inhabitants’ daily commuting
(to school, shops, job, etc.) is short enough to be
made on foot or by bike, which means better health
of the population and a decrease in pollution
levels.
• Zoning, the distribution of the city into specialised,
specific-use areas, often involves a greater consumption
of land.
• A less specialised urban fabric is usually more easily
transformable if the use becomes obsolete.

Figure 1.36 Diagram showing uses distribution.

©Authors.

19
BUILDING HEIGHT

Building height is defined as the distance between grade level and the roof of the building.

Figure 1.37 Low-rise buildings. Figure 1.38 Mid-rise buildings.

©Authors. ©Authors.
Figure 1.39 High-rise buildings.
©Authors.

Building height is deeply interconnected with other Design Elements, such as urban typologies, population density or topography. As a general rule, a
mid-rise building (between four and six storeys in height) is the most sustainable option because of the way it can balance the factors explained here.
This does not mean that mid-rise structures are the most appropriate option for any circumstance or that it is not appropriate to combine different
building heights to achieve, on the whole, an optimal result.

Structure
Mid- and low-rise buildings can be built with simple structural Figure 1.40 Diagram showing different types of
systems and reasonable costs, unlike high-rise buildings. structure according to building height.
Additionally, taller buildings have a greater impact on the ground, ©Authors.
since achieving the necessary structural stability requires a greater
ground transformation.

Building height and street design

To ensure adequate sunlight exposure in every room, it is
recommended that the width of the street (d) is greater or equal
to the height of the buildings that form it (h). This ratio is easy
to accomplish in low- and mid-rise buildings and usually not
respected in high-rise ones.

Figure 1.41 Diagram showing street design in correspondence

with building height.
©Authors.

d<H

d>H d=H
H

20
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
 Tanta licet pronus pro tempore det tibi thronus;
100 Sit nisi fine bonus, non honor est set onus.
Rex igitur videat cum curru quomodo vadat,
Et sibi prouideat, ne rota versa cadat.
Celorum Regi pateant que scripta peregi,
Namque sue legi res nequit vlla tegi.

FOOTNOTES:
809 ‘O deus immense’ &c. Text of S, collated with CH
810 Title Carmen quod Iohannes Gower tempore regis Ricardi,
dum vixit, vltimo composuit CHG
811 28 comune S
 LAST POEMS

Hic in fine notandum est qualiter ab illa

Cronica que Vox clamantis dicitur vsque in
finem istius Cronice que tripertita est, Ego inter
alios scribentes super hiis que medio tempore
in Anglia contingebant, secundum varias rerum
accidencias varia carmina, prout patet, que ad
legendum necessaria sunt, notabiliter
conscripsi. Sed nunc, quia vlterius scribere non
sufficio, excusacionis mee causam scriptis
subsequentibus plenius declarabo.

Quicquid homo scribat, finem natura ministrat,

Que velut vmbra fugit, nec fugiendo redit;
Illa michi finem posuit, quo scribere quicquam
Vlterius nequio, sum quia cecus ego.
Posse meum transit, quamuis michi velle remansit;
Amplius vt scribat hoc michi posse negat.
Carmina, dum potui, studiosus plurima scripsi;
Pars tenet hec mundum, pars tenet illa deum:
Vana tamen mundi mundo scribenda reliqui,
10 Scriboque mentali carmine verba dei.
Quamuis ad exterius scribendi deficit actus,
Mens tamen interius scribit et ornat opus:
Sic quia de manibus nichil amodo scribo valoris,
Scribam de precibus que nequit illa manus.
Hoc ego, vir cecus, presentibus oro diebus,
Prospera quod statuas regna futura, deus,
Daque michi sanctum lumen habere tuum. Amen.
S as above: in CHG as follows:

Nota hic in fine qualiter a principio illius

Cronice que Vox clamantis dicitur, vna cum
sequenti Cronica que tripertita est, tam de
tempore Regis Ricardi secundi vsque in ipsius
deposicionem, quam de coronacione
Illustrissimi domini Regis Henrici quarti vsque
in annum Regni sui secundum, Ego licet
indignus inter alios scribentes scriptor a diu
solicitus, precipue super hiis que medio
tempore in Anglia contingebant, secundum
varias rerum accidencias varia carmina, que ad
legendum necessaria sunt, sub compendio
breuiter conscripsi. Et nunc, quia tam grauitate
senectutis quam aliarum infirmitatum
multipliciter depressus vlterius de cronicis
scribere discrete non sufficio, excusacionem
meam necessariam, prout patet, consequenter
declarare intendo.

Henrici Regis annus fuit ille secundus,

Scribere dum cesso, sum quia cecus ego,
Vltra posse nichil, quamuis michi velle ministrat,
Amplius vt scribam non meus actus habet.
Scribere dum potui, studiosus plurima scripsi;
Pars tenet hec mundum, pars tenet illa deum:
Vana tamen mundi mundo scribenda reliqui,
Scriboque finali carmine vado mori.
Scribat qui veniet post me discrecior alter,
10* Ammodo namque manus et mea penna silent.
Sic quia nil manibus potero conferre valoris,
Est michi de precibus ferre laboris onus.
Deprecor ergo meis lacrimis, viuens ego cecus,
Prospera quod statuas regna futura, deus,
Daque michi sanctum lumen habere tuum. Amen.
In the Trentham MS. as follows (without heading),

Henrici quarti primus Regni fuit annus,

Quo michi defecit visus ad acta mea.
Omnia tempus habent, finem natura ministrat,
Quem virtute sua frangere nemo potest.
Vltra posse nichil, quamuis michi velle remansit,
Amplius vt scribam non michi posse manet.
Dum potui scripsi, set nunc quia curua senectus
Turbauit sensus, scripta relinquo scolis.
Scribat qui veniet post me discrecior alter,
10** Ammodo namque manus et mea penna silent.
Hoc tamen in fine verborum queso meorum,
Prospera quod statuat Regna futura deus. Amen.
 Orate pro anima Iohannis Gower.
Quicumque enim pro anima ipsius Iohannis
deuote orauerit, tociens quociens Mille
quingentos dies indulgencie ab ecclesia rite
concessos misericorditer in domino possidebit.

CH as above: G as follows:

Orantibus pro anima Iohannis Gower mille

quingenti dies indulgencie misericorditer in
domino conceduntur.
(Shield of arms borne by two angels.)

Armigeri scutum nichil ammodo fert sibi tutum,

Reddidit immo lutum morti generale tributum.
Spiritus exutum se gaudeat esse solutum,
Est vbi virtutum regnum sine labe statutum.

(A bier, with candle at head and foot.)

 812Vnanimes esse qui secula duxit ad esse
Nos iubet expresse, quia debet amor superesse;
Lex cum iure datur, pax gaudet, plebs gratulatur,
Regnum firmatur, vbi verus amor dominatur:
Sicut yemps florem, diuisio quassat amorem,813
Nutrit et errorem quasi pestis agitque dolorem.
Quod precessit heri docet ista pericla timeri,
Vt discant veri sapientes secla mederi.
Filius ipse dei, manet in quo spes requiei,814
10 Ex meritis fidei dirigat acta rei.

Diligamus invicem.

815Presul, ouile regis, vbi morbus adest

macularum,
Lumina dumque tegis, tenebrescit Nota de
pestis earum. primordiis
Mune pericla gregis, patuit quia Stelle Comate
in Anglia.
stella minarum,
Vnde viam Regis turbat genus insidiarum.
Velle loco legis mundum nunc ducit auarum,
Sic vbicumque legis, nichil est nisi cordis amarum,
Quod maneat clarum, stat modo dulce parum.

Cultor in ecclesia qui deficiente sophia

Semina vana serit, Messor inanis erit.
Hii set cultores, sunt quorum semina mores
Ad messem Cristi, plura lucrantur ibi.816
Qui cupit ergo bonus celorum lucra colonus,
Vnde lucrum querat, semina sancta serat.
Qui pastor Cristi iusto cupit ordine sisti,
 Non sit cum Cristo Symon mediator in isto:
Querat pasturam Pastor sine crimine puram,
10 Nam nimis est vile, pascat si Symon ouile.
Per loca deserta, quo nulla patet via certa,
Symon oues ducit, quas Cristo raro reducit.

Dicunt scripture memorare nouissima vite;

Pauper ab hoc mundo transiet Nota contra
omnis homo. mortuorum
Dat fortuna status varios, natura executores.817
set omnes
Fine suo claudit, cunctaque morte rapit.
Post mortem pauci, qui nunc reputantur amici,
Sunt memores anime, sis memor ergo tue:
Da, dum tempus habes, tibi propria sit manus
heres;818
Auferet hoc nemo, quod dabis ipse deo.

FOOTNOTES:
812 ‘Vnanimes esse’ &c. This and the three remaining pieces are
found in CHG, and, except the second, also in E
813 5 margin Nota pro amore E
814 9 ipse] ille E Diligamus invicem om. E
815 ‘Presul’ &c. 1 Regis MSS.
816 ‘Cultor in ecclesia’ &c. 4 ff. margin Nota quid pastores
ecclesie debent esse et quomodo debent intrare &c. E
817 ‘Dicunt scripture’ &c. 2 ff. margin Nota—executores] Nota
quod bonum est vnicuique esse executor sui ipsius E
818 7 Dum tua tempus habes EH
 NOTES
EPISTOLA.
This Epistle, written apparently on the occasion of sending a copy
of the book to the archbishop, is found only in the All Souls MS., and
it is reasonable to suppose that this was the copy in question. The
statement of Mr. Coxe in the Roxburghe edition, that ‘the preface to
archbishop Arundel ... is also in the original hand’ of the book
(Introduction, p. lix) is a surprising one, and must have been due to
some deception of memory. The hand here is quite a different one
from that of the text which follows, and has a distinctly later
character. The piece is full of erasures, which are indicated in this
edition by spaced type, but the corrections are in the same hand as
the rest. Having no other copy of it, we cannot tell what the original
form of the erased passages may have been, but it is noticeable that
the most important of them (ll. 26-34) has reference almost entirely
to the blindness of the author, and nearly every one contains
something which may be regarded as alluding to this, either some
mention of light and darkness, or some allusion to the fact that his
only perceptions now are those of the mind. We may perhaps
conclude that the Epistle was inscribed here before the author quite
lost his eyesight, and that the book then remained by him for some
time before it was presented. The illuminated capital S with which
this composition begins is combined with a miniature painting of the
archbishop.
2. tibi scribo, ‘I dedicate to thee.’
3. Quod ... scriptum: written over erasure; perhaps originally
‘Quem ... librum,’ altered to avoid the repetition of ‘librum’ from the
preceding line.
4. contempletur: apparently in a passive impersonal sense.
 17. Cecus ego mere. The word ‘mere’ alone is over erasure here,
but if we suppose that the original word was ‘fere,’ we may regard
this as referring originally to a gradual failure of the eyesight, not to
complete blindness.
19. Corpore defectus, ‘the failure in my body,’ as subject of ‘sinit.’
23. dumque: equivalent to ‘dum’ in our author’s language; cp. i.
165, 2007, &c.
33. morosa: this word has a good meaning in Gower’s language;
cp. ‘O deus immense,’ l. 2, where ‘morosi’ is opposed to ‘viciosi.’

VOX CLAMANTIS
CAPITULA.
Lib. I. Cap. iii. quandam vulgi turmam. It may be noted that these
headings do not always exactly correspond with those placed at the
head of the chapters afterwards. For example here the actual
heading of the chapter has ‘secundam vulgi turmam,’ and for the
succeeding chapters ‘terciam,’ ‘quartam,’ ‘quintam,’ &c. Usually the
differences are very trifling, as ‘illius terre’ for ‘terre illius’ above, but
sometimes they proceed from the fact that alterations have been
made in the chapter headings, which the corrector has neglected to
make in this Table of Chapters. This is the case for example as
regards Lib. VI. Capp. xviii. and xix. Slight variations of the kind first
mentioned will be found in Lib. III. Capp. i, v, viii, xii, xvi, xix, xx.
Lib. III. Cap. iiii. The form which we have here in D corresponds
to the heading of the chapter given by LTH₂ (but not by D itself) in
the text later. G has the text here after ‘loquitur’ written over an
erasure.
Lib. VII. Cap. xix. Here S has lost two leaves (the sixth and
seventh of the first full quire) to Lib. I. Cap. i. l. 18. The verso of the
former of these leaves had no doubt the four lines ‘Ad mundum
mitto’ &c. with picture, as in the Cotton MS.
 LIB. I. Prologus.
3 f. Cp. Conf. Amantis, iv. 2921 f.,

‘Al be it so, that som men sein

That swevenes ben of no credence.’

‘propositum credulitatis’ seems to mean ‘true ground of belief.’

12. interius mentis: cp. i. 1361.
15. That is, ‘hinc puto quod sompnia que vidi,’ &c.
21 ff. We are here told to add to ‘John’ the first letters of
‘Godfrey,’ the beginning of ‘Wales,’ and the word ‘Ter’ without its
head: that is, ‘John Gower.’
23. que tali. The use of ‘que’ in this manner, standing
independently at the beginning of the clause, is very common in
Gower.
33 f. Taken from Ovid, Tristia, v. 1. 5 f.
36. Cp. Tristia, i. 1. 14, ‘De lacrimis factas sentiet esse meis,’
which, so far as it goes, is in favour of the reading ‘senciat’ here.
37 f. This couplet was originally Tristia, iv. 1. 95 f.,

‘Saepe etiam lacrimae me sunt scribente profusae,

Humidaque est fletu litera facta meo.’

The first line however was altered so as to lose its grammatical

construction, and the couplet was subsequently emended.
43 f. Cp. Ovid, Tristia, i. 5. 53 f.
47 f. Cp. Pont. iv. 2. 19, where the comparison to a spring choked
with mud is more clearly brought out.
49. The original reading here was ‘confracto,’ but it has been
altered to ‘contracto’ in C and G, while E gives ‘contracto’ from the
first hand. The general meaning seems to be that as the long
pilgrimage to Rome is to one with crippled knee, so is this work to
the author, with his limited powers of intellect.
 56. The reading ‘conturbant’ in all the best MSS. seems to be a
mistake.
57 f. The author is about to denounce the evils of the world and
proclaim the woes which are to follow, like the writer of the
Apocalypse, whose name he bears. Perhaps he may also have
some thought of the formula ‘seint John to borwe’ by which travellers
committed themselves to the protection of the saint on their setting
forth: cp. Conf. Amantis, v. 3416.

LIB. I.
1. The fourth year of Richard II is from June 22, 1380 to the same
date of 1381. The writer here speaks of the last month of that regnal
year, during which the Peasants’ rising occurred.
4. Cp. Ovid, Her. xvii. 112, ‘Praevius Aurorae Lucifer ortus erat.’
7 f. Godfrey of Viterbo, Pantheon, p. 24 (ed. 1584), has

‘Luce diem reparat, mirandaque lumina praestat,

Sic fuga dat noctem, luxque reversa diem.’

He is speaking of the Sun generally, and the second line means

‘Thus his departure produces the night and his returning light the
day.’ As introduced here this line is meaningless.
9. Adapted from Ovid, Metam. ii. 110.
11. Cp. Metam. vii. 703, but here ‘mane’ is made into the object
of the verb instead of an adverb.
13. Cp. Metam. ii. 113.
15. Cp. Metam. ii. 24.
17 f. From Godfrey of Viterbo, Pantheon, p. 24 (ed. 1584).
21 ff. Cp. Metam. ii. 107 ff.,

‘Aureus axis erat, temo aureus, aurea summae

Curvatura rotae, radiorum argenteus ordo.
 Per iuga chrysolithi positaeque ex ordine gemmae
Clara repercusso reddebant lumina Phoebo.’

‘alter ab auro’ seems to mean ‘different from gold.’

27. Cp. Metam. ii. 23.
33-60. This passage is largely from Ovid: see especially Fasti, i.
151 ff. and iii. 235-242, iv. 429 f., v. 213 f., Metam. ii. 30, Tristia, iii.
12. 5-8.
40. In Ovid (Fasti, iii. 240) it is ‘Fertilis occultas invenit herba
vias.’ The metrical fault produced by reading ‘occultam ... viam’
seems to have been corrected by the author, and in G the alteration
has been made by erasure, apparently in the first hand.
44. redditus: apparently a substantive and practically equivalent
to ‘reditus.’
59. Ovid, Fasti, v. 213 f., where however we have ‘Saepeque
digestos.’ It is difficult to say exactly what our author meant by ‘O
quia.’
67. Cp. Metam. xiii. 395.
79 f. Speculum Stultorum, p. 47, ll. 9 f. (ed. Wright, Rolls Series,
59, vol. i.).
81. irriguis. Perhaps rather ‘Fontibus irriguus, fecundus,’ as given
by most of the MSS.
131. ad ymum, ‘to that low place,’ i.e. his bed.
135. Non ita ... Quin magis: cp. ll. 264 ff., 351 ff., 442 ff., 499 ff,
&c. This form of sentence is a very common one with our author and
appears also in his French and English: cp. Mirour, 18589, Balades,
vii. 4, xviii. 2, xxx. 2, Conf. Amantis, i. 718, 1259, 1319, &c.
For example, Bal. xviii. 2,

‘Tiel esperver crieis unqes ne fu,

Qe jeo ne crie plus en ma maniere.’

Conf. Amantis, i. 718 ff.,

 ‘So lowe cowthe I nevere bowe
To feigne humilite withoute,
That me ne leste betre loute
With alle the thoghtes of myn herte.’

It is most frequent in Latin, however, and the French and English

forms seem to be translations of this idiom with ‘quin.’
152. ‘Dreams cast the soul into wanderings’: ‘ruunt’ is transitive,
as very commonly, and apparently we must take ‘vaga nonnulla’
together.
155. grauis et palpebra, &c., ‘and my heavy eyelid unclosed
pondered over troubles, but no help came.’ This is the best
translation I can give, but the explanation of ‘ex oculis’ as ‘away from
the eyes’ must be regarded as doubtful.
168. That is, on a Tuesday. It would be apparently Tuesday, June
11, 1381. The festival of Corpus Christi referred to afterwards (see l.
919), when the insurgents entered London, fell on June 13.
201. Burnellus: a reference to the Speculum Stultorum, p. 13
(Rolls Series, 59, vol. i).
205 ff. Cp. Speculum Stultorum, p. 13, whence several of these
lines are taken.
211 f. ‘They care not for the tail which He who gave them their
ears implanted in them, but think it a vile thing.’ The former line of
the couplet is from Speculum Stultorum, p. 15, l. 17.
213 f. Speculum Stultorum, p. 15, ll. 23 f.
255. caudas similesque draconum, ‘and tails like those of
dragons.’
267. Minos taurus, ‘the bull of Minos,’ sent from the sea in
answer to his prayer.
271. There is some confusion here in the author’s mind between
different stories, and it is difficult to say exactly what he was thinking
of.
 277 f. Cp. Ovid, Metam. xi. 34 ff.
280. crapulus. I do not know what this is, unless it is equivalent to
‘capulus,’ which is rather doubtfully given by D. That would mean the
‘handle’ of the plough, but we have ‘ansa’ in l. 282.
289 f. Cp. Pont. i. 3. 55 f.
291. Metam. viii. 293.
325 ff. For this passage compare Metam. viii. 284 ff.
335. Metam. viii. 285. The Digby MS. has a rubricator’s note here
in the margin, ‘sete. a bristell.’
341. quod: consecutive, ‘so that’; cp. ‘sic ... quod,’ ll. 223, 311,
&c. In the next line ‘pascua’ seems to be singular.
351 ff. See note on l. 135.
381. Fasti, ii. 767.
395. Cutte que Curre, ‘Cut and Cur,’ names for mongrel dogs.
396. As a note on ‘casas’ the Digby MS. has ‘i.e. kenell’ in the
margin.
402. ‘Neither does he of the mill remain at home.’
405. The rubricator of the Digby MS. has written in the margin,
‘i.e. threefoted dog commyng after halting.’
407. Digby MS. rubric, ‘i.e. Rig þe Teydog.’ Note the position of
‘que,’ which should properly be attached to the first word of the line:
cp. l. 847.
455. As a note on ‘thalia’ here (for ‘talia’) the Digby MS. has
‘Thelea i.e. dea belli’ written by the rubricator. It is difficult to
conjecture what he was thinking of.
457. The Digby MS. rubricator, as a note on ‘Cephali canis’ has in
the margin, ‘i.e. stella in firmamento.’
465. ‘super est’ is the reading of the Glasgow MS. also.
474. artes. This seems to be the reading of all the MSS., though
in S the word might possibly be ‘arces.’ I take it to mean ‘devices,’ in
the way of traps, or ingenious hiding-places.
479. ‘The grey foxes determine to leave the caverns of the wood’:
‘vulpes’ (or rather ‘vulpis’) is masculine in Gower.
483. ‘Henceforth neither the sheep nor the poor sheepfold are
anything to them.’ For this use of ‘quid’ with a negative cp. l. 184.
492. solet. The present of this verb seems often to be used by
our author as equivalent to the imperfect: cp. l. 541, iii. 705, 740, &c.
Also ‘solebat,’ i. 699, iii. 1485; cp. v. 333, where ‘solebant’ seems to
stand for ‘solent.’ In other cases also the present is sometimes used
for the imperfect, e.g. l. 585 ‘quas nuper abhorret Egiptus.’
499 ff. See 1 Sam. v. The plague of mice is distinctly mentioned
in the Vulgate version, while in our translation from the Hebrew it is
implied in ch. vi. 5. ‘Accharon’ is Ekron.
541. solent: see note on l. 492.
545. Coppa: used as a familiar name for a hen in the Speculum
Stultorum, pp. 55, 58, and evidently connected with ‘Coppen’ or
‘Coppe,’ which is the name of one of Chantecleer’s daughters in the
Low-German and English Reynard.
557 f. ‘They determine that days are lawful for those things for
which the dark form of night had often given furtive ways.’
568. quod: equivalent to ‘vt’; cp. ll. 600, 1610.
576. G reads ‘perstimulant’ with CED.
579 f. See Ovid, Metam. vi. 366 ff. Apparently ‘colonum’ is for
‘colonorum.’
603. Toruus oester: cp. Speculum Stultorum, p. 25.
615 f. Cp. Speculum Stultorum, p. 24, l. 21 f.
635. Cp. Speculum Stultorum, p. 25, l. 15.
637 f. Speculum Stultorum, p. 26,

‘Haec est illa dies qua nil nisi cauda iuvabit,

Vel loca quae musca tangere nulla potest.’
 652. stramine: probably an allusion to the name of Jack Strawe,
as ‘tegula’ in the next couplet to Wat Tyler.
Cap. ix. Heading, l. 3. It seems to be implied that the jay, which
must often have been kept as a cage-bird and taught to talk, was
commonly called ‘Wat,’ as the daw was called ‘Jack,’ and this name
together with the bird’s faculty of speech has suggested the
transformation adopted for Wat Tyler.
716. There is no punctuation in S, but those MSS. which have
stops, as CD, punctuate after ‘nephas’ and ‘soluit.’ The line is
suggested by Ovid, Fasti, ii. 44, ‘Solve nefas, dixit; solvit et ille
nefas.’ There it is quite intelligible, but here it is without any clear
meaning.
It may be observed here that the passage of Ovid in which this
line occurs, Fasti, ii. 35-46, is evidently one of the sources of
Confessio Amantis, v. 2547 ff.
749. Sicut arena maris: cp. Rev. xx. 8, to which reference is
made below, ll. 765 ff.
762. ‘All that they lay upon us, they equally bear themselves.’
Apparently this is the meaning, referring to the universal ruin which is
likely to ensue.
765-776. These twelve lines are taken with some alterations of
wording and order from Godfrey of Viterbo, Pantheon, p. 228 (ed.
1584). In l. 765 the reference to the Apocalypse is to Rev. xx.
774. forum: apparently ‘law.’
783 ff: This well-known chapter was very incorrectly printed in the
Roxburghe edition, owing to the fact that a leaf has here been cut
out of S, and the editor followed D. Fuller, whose translation of the
opening lines has often been quoted, had a better text before him,
probably that of the Cotton MS.
810. It is difficult to see how this line is to be translated, unless
we suppose that ‘fossa’ is a grammatical oversight.
821. Cp. Ovid, Metam. i. 211, ‘Contigerat nostras infamia
temporis aures.’
 849 f. Adapted from Amores, iii. 9. 7 f., but not very happily.
855 ff. With this passage we may compare the description in
Walsingham, vol. i. p. 454, ‘quorum quidam tantum baculos, quidam
rubigine obductos gladios, quidam bipennes solummodo, nonnulli
arcus prae vetustate factos a fumo rubicundiores ebore antiquo, cum
singulis sagittis, quorum plures contentae erant una pluma, ad
regnum conquaerendum convenere.’
868. The reading ‘de leuitate’ is given also by G.
869. limpidiores. The epithet is evidently derived from 1 Sam.
xvii. 40, where the Vulgate has ‘et elegit sibi quinque limpidissimos
lapides de torrente.’
876. ‘These fools boast that the earth has been wetted,’ &c.
871 ff. Cp. Metam. xi. 29 f.
879 f. Cp. Conf. Amantis, Prol. 37*. One of the charges against
Sir Nicholas Brembre in 1388 was that he had designed to change
the name of London to ‘New Troy.’
891. siluis que palustribus, ‘from the woods and marshes.’
904. Cp. Ovid, Ars Amat. iii. 577 f.
909. Cp. Metam. viii. 421.
919. Corpus Christi day, that is Thursday, June 13.
929 f. via salua: apparently meaning ‘Savoye,’ the palace of the
duke of Lancaster in the Strand. In the next line ‘longum castrum’
looks like ‘Lancaster,’ but it is difficult to say exactly what the
meaning is.
931. Baptisteque domus. This is the Priory of St. John of
Jerusalem at Clerkenwell, which was burnt by the insurgents
because of their hostility to Robert Hales, the Master of the Hospital,
then Treasurer of the kingdom. Walsingham says that the fire
continued here for seven days.
933-936. Ovid, Fasti, vi. 439 ff., where the reference is to the
burning of the temple of Vesta. Hence the mention of sacred fires,
which is not appropriate here.
937. Metam. ii. 61.
939 f. Metam. i. 288 f.
941 ff. This accusation, which Gower brings apparently without
thinking it necessary to examine into its truth (‘Est nichil vt queram,’
&c.), is in direct contradiction to the statements of the chroniclers,
e.g. Walsingham, i. 456 f., Knighton, ii. 135; but it is certain that
dishonest persons must have taken advantage of the disorder to
some extent for their own private ends, however strict the commands
of the leaders may have been, and it is probable that the control
which was exercised at first did not long continue. The chroniclers
agree with Gower as to the drunkenness.
943 f. Ovid, Trist. v. 6. 39 f.
951. Ovid, Fasti, vi. 673.
953. Metam. xv. 665.
955 f. That is, the deeds of Friday (dies Veneris) were more
atrocious than those of Thursday.
961 f. The construction of accusative with infinitive is here used
after ‘Ecce,’ as if it were a verb, and ‘Calcas’ is evidently meant for
an accusative case. It is probable that the names here given,
Calchas, Antenor, Thersites, Diomede, Ulysses, as well as those
which follow in ll. 985 ff., are meant to stand for general types, rather
than for particular persons connected with the government. In any
case we could hardly identify them.
997. Vix Hecube thalami, &c. This looks like an allusion to the
princess of Wales, the king’s mother, whose apartments in the Tower
were in fact invaded by the mob. Similarly in the lines that follow
‘Helenus’ stands for the archbishop of Canterbury.
1019 ff. The text of these five lines, as we find it in DTH₂, that is
in its earlier form, was taken for the most part from the Aurora of
Petrus (de) Riga, (MS. Bodley 822) f. 88 vo,
 ‘Non rannus pungens, set oliua uirens, set odora
Ficus, set blanda uitis abhorret eos.
Anticristus enim regit hos, nam spiritus almus,
Nam lex, nam Cristus, non dominatur eis.’

He is speaking of the parable of Jotham in the Book of Judges.

1046. Fasti, ii. 228.
1073. medioque: written apparently for ‘mediaque.’
1076. posse caret, ‘is without effect.’
1081. Cp. Tristia, iv. 2. 5 f.
1094. Cp. Fasti, i. 122.
1141. Metam. vi. 559.
1143. Cp. Metam. vii. 603.
1161. Metam. vii. 602. Considering that the line is borrowed from
Ovid, we cannot attach much importance to it as indicating what was
done with the body of the archbishop.
1173. ostia iuris: cp. Walsingham, i. 457, ‘locum qui vocatur
“Temple Barre,” in quo apprenticii iuris morabantur nobiliores,
diruerunt.’
1188. Cp. Ovid, Her. iii. 4.
1189. Metam. v. 41.
1193 f. Cp. Ars Amat. ii. 373 f., where, however, we have ‘cum
rotat,’ not ‘conrotat.’
1206. Quam periturus erat, ‘rather than that he should perish,’
apparently.
1209. Cp. Metam. v. 40.
1211. Metam. xiv. 408.
1215 f. A reference probably to the massacre of the Flemings.
1219 f. Fasti, iii. 509 f.
 1221 f. Ovid, Amores, iii. 9. 11 f.
1224. Cp. Her. v. 68.
1253. Cp. Metam. vii. 599, ‘Exiguo tinxit subiectos sanguine
cultros.’
1271. Perhaps ‘cessit’ is right, as in l. 1265, but the reading of C
is the result of a correction, and the corrections of this manuscript
are usually sound.
1279 f. If there is any construction here, it must be ‘Erumpunt
lacrimae luminibus, que lumina,’ &c. For this kind of ellipse cp. l.
1501.
1283. Cp. Her. viii. 77.
1289. Metam. ix. 775.
Cap. xvi. Heading, l. 1. quasi in propria persona: cf. Conf.
Amantis, i. 60, margin, ‘Hic quasi in persona aliorum quos amor
alligat, fingens se auctor esse Amantem,’ &c. The author takes care
to guard his readers against a too personal application of his
descriptions.
1359. Cp. Ovid, Metam. xiv. 198. In the lines that follow our
author has rather ingeniously appropriated several other expressions
from the same story of Ulysses and Polyphemus.
1363 f. Ars Amat. iii. 723 f.
1365. Metam. xiv. 206.
1369. Metam. xiv. 200.
1379 f. Cp. Tristia, v. 4. 33 f.
1385 f. Her. xx. 91 f.
1387. Cp. Metam. xiv. 120.
1395. Cp. Metam. iv. 723.
1397 f. Cp. Tristia, i. 3. 53 f.
1401 f. Cp. Fasti, v. 315 f.