URBAN ECOLOGY

CONCEPT OF ECOLOGY AND ITS IMPORTANCE IN ARCHITECTURE

INTRODUCTION TO URBAN ECOLOGY

 Urban ecosystems are the cities, towns, and settlements constructed by humans.

 We all influence our urban ecosystem and at the same time, we are influenced by ecological
conditions.
 Everything we do either uses natural resources or returns them as waste.
 The amount of land and resources that a population or a person uses is called an ecological footprint.
We all can do things to make our personal footprints smaller.

Source: https://www.thenatureofcities.com - architecture-and-urban-ecosystems-from-segregation-to-integration

ECOLOGICAL BUILDING PRINCIPLES

 Design for climate

 Design for the physical and social environment
 Design for time, the use of contemporary technologies
ECOLOGICAL ARCHITECTURE AND PASSIVE HOUSE CONCEPT

Physical Design Components

 Site selection and planning
 Ecological design (building form, building orientation, space organization, building envelope)
 Energy and resource
 Waste
PASSIVE HOUSE CONCEPT

 The passive house uses the available energy from solar radiation through the windows and the heat emissions of
appliances and inhabitants suffice to keep the building at pleasant temperatures during the heating period.

 The technical use of solar energy for heating systems in a passive house should occur in collectors and conversion
surfaces (e.g. thermal collectors and photovoltaic installations) from where the energy is transported to storage
units or the actual place of use. This is an indirect (or active) use of solar energy, and the technical installation will
be positioned on the skin of the building where it is not subject to shade.

 The term passive house defines a building standard that can be achieved with different construction techniques,
forms and materials. In a passive house the comfortable climate conditions are attained without any or with mini-
mum use of a conventional active heating system.
PASSIVE HOUSE CONCEPT
PASSIVE HOUSE CONCEPT

Source: jorgefontan.com
PASSIVE HOUSE CONCEPT
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT (EIA)

 Environment Impact Assessment or EIA can be defined as the study to predict the effect of a proposed
activity/project on the environment.

 A decision making tool, EIA compares various alternatives for a project and seeks to identify the one which
represents the best combination of economic and environmental costs and benefits.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT (EIA)

 Environmental impact assessment (EIA) was developed as a tool to minimize negative impact of human activities
on the environment.

 The purpose of the environmental impact assessment is to assess the impact of a proposed activity on the
environment before making the decision on whether to carry it out, and develop and assess measures to avoid or
minimize those impacts if it is decided to carry out the activity.

 EIA can be defined as a process of collecting information about environmental impacts of a proposed project and
consequent relevant decision-making. EIAs also consider aspects such as project alternatives and mitigation
measures which should be applied if the project is allowed. 
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT (EIA)

The process of EIA comprises a number of different stages:

 Screening
 Scoping
 Reviewing
 Completion