In the last ten years, people began to care more and more about the environment. This led to the fact that even in the field of construction a fundamentally new technique appeared - green organic architecture. Although now there are relatively few examples of such houses around the world, however, they themselves remind of some outlandish fantasies that fully follow the principles of environmental friendliness. Living in such houses allows city dwellers who yearn for wildlife so much to get it even a little close to themselves. This article will talk about what green architecture is not as one of the new fashion trends, but as a fundamentally new way of thinking of people who decided to abandon the exploitation of nature.
Environmental approach
When constructing green architecture objects, environmental friendliness is primarily taken into account. The very root of the word ecology - "oikos" in Greek means home. Therefore, a similar construction technique is based on the relationship of home, home and nature. Those who follow this trend believe that a person should strive for nature and nature. This is precisely what led to the fact that at the end of the 20th century innovative architecture began to develop.
The history of green architecture began relatively recently, when it became clear that the pace of industrialization in construction, which had only been growing throughout the past century, began to influence the environment too much. People began to try to create a home for themselves, taking into account several more factors - biosocial, natural and socio-psychological. These prerequisites led to the introduction of an ecological approach into architecture.
The basics of eco-architecture
As the name implies, green architecture itself is built on a person’s love and respect for nature, and therefore buildings built on similar projects should have minimal impact on the environment. However, in fact, ecological architecture, using various visual and material signs of style, is trying to convey this love. As a result, this led to the construction of original projects, which are almost impossible to correlate with other styles, because in the very forms and lines you can see the natural nature.
At first glance, such buildings may seem very strange and illogical, since they contain interesting smooth lines. However, architects calmly explain this by the fact that nature is very multifaceted, and therefore everything can be done here. But in one, these buildings are very similar - they fit so perfectly into the environment that they seem to be creations of nature.
Construction principles
Over the course of several years, young specialists conducted a series of experiments in organic architecture, many of which were very unsuccessful. However, already now there are a number of principles of green architecture that should guide the construction of buildings. These include:
- The principle of energy conservation is to minimize the need to expend thermal energy for heating or cooling.
- The principle of reducing the volume of new construction involves the use of old buildings or materials from them in new buildings. A similar principle has been in effect for centuries, especially during the Middle Ages, when buildings were built for centuries. However, in the middle of the 20th century, developers began to simply demolish and build everything from scratch, as it was much easier.
- The principle of cooperation with the sun suggests the use of solar panels in a building as a way of storing energy for heating. In addition, in buildings built in the style of green architecture, almost all windows face south.
- The principle of respect for the inhabitants - the building becomes not just a place to live, but a property in which every inhabitant of the house has a huge role to play in maintaining order.
- The principle of respect for the place provides a view of Eastern philosophy on nature - the unity and fusion of man and his natural environment. Nature should cease to be only a resource used for the benefit of mankind.
- The principle of integrity expresses the ideal of eco-architecture. It provides an approach to the task of construction in such a way that all of the above principles can be applied.
Stefano Boeri House in Lausanne
One of the vivid examples of green architecture is a real skyscraper in the Swiss city of Lausanne. Built by Stefano Boeri, he refuted the whole skepticism of people in the fact that it is impossible to build a house with vertical landscaping. The original construction of the Milanese architect is so amazing that it can only cause true admiration. It was completed only in 2014 and now pleases the residents of the city, rising to a height of 117 meters. In this case, the house has more than 100 trees and a huge number of other green spaces.
Plant Tower in Nantes
Another interesting building is the Plant Tower, which was created by the French architect Francois in the style of green architecture. He designed in Nantes a unique building, which is planted with trees. They are designed to decorate the facade of the building, and for their comfortable growth, the trees will be placed in steel tubes. This will provide an opportunity for people to enjoy their holidays in the shade of the stunning local trees. The main tower, designed for people, will have 17 floors, each of which is decorated with balconies of different diameters.
Bamboo Ecohouse
When building in the style of green architecture, building materials can be very diverse. So in China, houses made of bamboo began to appear. This material is very durable and flexible, in addition, groundwater can be used to cool the house. For construction, simple modular blocks are used, which are easy enough to assemble into a single structure using the dry mounting method. It also helps protect bamboo from warping.
Green School in Spain
In the Spanish city of Roldan there is a unique and creative school, which is built in the style of environmental architecture. The entire exterior of the school is covered with an ecological lawn so that it seems as if the building simply grew out of the ground. A similar appearance, invented by the Spanish architectural studio Estudio Huma, is designed to introduce the new school to nature and integrate it into the landscape. The school is distinguished by its spacious classrooms, which are furnished in a youth democratic style, so that students can easily feel here, either on the street or at home. The green carpet itself, covering the building, in addition to the decorative function, allows you to create efficient heat transfer between the rooms and provide a good microclimate for students.
Architect Hundertwasser Forest Spiral
In the German city of Darmstadt in 2000, the famous Austrian architect Hundertwasser built a unique residential complex called the Forest Spiral. If you look at it from above, then in appearance the building resembles a snail. The flowing façade features, the walls are painted in different colors and the windows are diverse in shape give the building a fancy look. And some windows also have a surprise - trees grow from them. Owners of apartments are required to constantly look after them, as it is so written in the lease.
In total, the residential complex has 105 apartments on 12 floors and a lovely patio with an artificial lake. On the wavy roof of the building there are also plantings of various trees and flowers. All this led to the fact that the Forest Spiral fit so perfectly into the landscape of the environment, because the house simply does not have any straight lines and sharp corners. At the moment, the complex is considered one of the most original architectural creations in Germany and attracts many tourists. The original beauty of the creation of the famous designer can not leave anyone indifferent, because in the center of a large urban city you can so rarely feel unity with nature.
The hobbit's home
And if you delve deeper into a fairy tale, you can tell about one interesting house, which was built in Wales by photographer Simon Dale. He created it on his own in just 4 months at minimal cost - in total it took about 256 thousand rubles. The building is located on a hillside made of natural materials, in appearance it resembles the hobbit house described by Tolkien in his books.
Green architecture in Russia
Now thousands of examples of various ecological buildings exist around the world, but such a trend has not yet arrived in Russia. And maybe it won’t come, especially in its northern part due to the harsh climate. Today we can give only one example of green organic architecture in Russia, which has been fully certified. However, this building is not a residential building, but only a bearing factory in Tver. However, now the authorities are trying to certify several more of these buildings - Olympic facilities in Sochi, buildings in Skolkovo and Barkly Park.
Barkli Park in Moscow
In Moscow there is a residential complex located on the street of the Soviet Army, which can claim the title of green house. This elite housing in the Meshchansky district consists of two residential towers designed by the Atrium architectural studio and the French architect Philippe Starck. The construction was carried out taking into account all the principles of construction - the rational use of resources, minimizing damage to nature and many others. In total there are 134 apartments, and on each floor there are landscaped areas on balconies, roofs and terraces. Each apartment has a Smart Home system that allows you to control appliances in the apartment from a distance.
