Biodiversity and climate change adaptation through non-discrete architectural spaces and architectures: A systemic approach to traditions for sustainable futures

Abstract

The research claims that traditions are not static. They develop and adapt based on the present situation. Due to the recent climate extremes coming to formerly mild climate locations, their architectures can learn from traditional ones from more extreme climate locations. The present systemic design study on semi-interior, ʼnon-discrete spaces performances’ (Hensel, 2013; Hensel & Turko, 2015) of Norwegian traditional architectures, so-called ‘svalgangs’ and ‘skuts’, examines its reuse for today’s climate change adaptation and support of biodiversity, which is currently decreasing. These authors’ historical research survey of performance, following similar studies by Hasan Fathy on architectural abiotic agency (Fathy, 1986), is motivated by design and co-develops its own systemic process-based methodology: ‘Systemic Approach to Architectural Performance’ (SAAP). This approach originates from ‘Systems Oriented Design’ (Sevaldson, 2013b), namely its use of gigamapping (Sevaldson, 2011, 2015) and ‘Time Based Design’ (Sevaldson, 2004). Here, these ʼnon-anthropocentric architectural’ (Hensel, 2012) prototypes are in a process of over-evolving co-design with the ambient environment’s abiotic and biotic agency, which also includes human agents.