Architecture vs. nature: A reinvented relationship

Abstract

Architectural and urban design are influenced by more and more restrictive legislative regulations which go along with the increasing awareness of the impact of human activities on the environment. This trend is stimulating the development of sustainable technologies applied in architecture. Incorporating elements of nature using their unique features supporting energy efficiency, air-quality control, water and sewage management systems can often be observed. Elements of nature may be implemented in the building itself, as well as in its surroundings and interior. Therefore there may be a new type of space observed in contemporary sustainable structures - a transition space forming a soft edge between the building, its interiors and the city. The paper describes the relationship between architecture and nature; how it is being rediscovered by sustainable design and for architecture to become the substance for the new city tissue. © 2014 WIT Press.