From Vernacular to Sustainable Contemporary Architecture: Urban Green and Patios

Abstract

The majority of humans are exposed to environmental conditions that often challenge human health and well-being and also threaten natural resources. The sustainable approach recalls the importance of using all the renewable resources of nature revaluating the environmental characteristics of past solutions and recognizing that they have contributed to creating many sophisticated and environmentally friendly local cultures. This chapter presents a review of the high efficiency and complex features of greenery for the microclimatic regulation in urban green and in patios. The importance of hybridizing the logic of natural systems with that of technical systems in sustainable contemporary architecture for variable temperate climates is highlighted. As case study, results from research conducted in the city of Mendoza (Argentina) are presented. It is concluded that it is a significant cultural election to include greenery in our city lives. The closer we bring nature to our habitats, the better use we can make of it, gaining in physiological and psychological aspects.