Biomimetic Architecture and Its Role in Developing Sustainable, Regenerative, and Livable Cities: Global Perspectives and Approaches in the Age of COVID-19

This book focuses on understanding biomimetic architecture and its role as a sustainable design tool. It presents the role of biomimicry in mitigation and adaptation to climate change and examines how biomimetic architecture can provide healthy solutions to limit the spread of COVID-19 in buildings and cities. Coverage includes global examples of biomimetic approaches and buildings, an evaluation of the performance of biomimicry applications in architecture to illustrate best practices, and an exploration of how nature can offer inspiration in building design to conserve resources and save energy use as well as curb carbon emissions - a reaffirmed goal of COP 26 and an outcome of Glasgow Climate Pact. Finally, the book presents guidelines to enhance urban areas and healthier spaces in buildings to meet COVID-19 social distance regulations and beyond. • Examines global applications of biomimicry in architecture;• Highlights the importance of biomimicry in driving livability in cities and buildings;• Explores the role of biomimetic architecture in mitigating climate change. "The line of argument developed is highly relevant to the present, in addition to being original and pertinent to research on urban regeneration, especially in regard to the exploration of the use of biomimicry architecture in response to changing urban demands.” -Alessandra Battisti, Ph.D., Professor of Architecture, University of Rome La Sapienza. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.

Toward Regenerative Sustainability: A Passive Design Comfort Assessment Method of Indoor Environment

The fact that people spend a major part of their lifetime indoors, together with the lethal COVID-19 pandemic which caused people to spend even more time inside buildings, has drawn attention to the significance of achieving Agenda 2030 SD goal number three: good health and well-being, in reference to the indoor environment. The research subject is the health and well-being of building users explored through the sustainable (passive) design principles having an impact on the comfort and quality of the indoor environment. It is set within a regenerative sustainability framework encompassing the physiological, biophilic, psychological and social aspects of comfort. The Comfort Assessment Model's categories, to some extent, rely on the first author's doctoral thesis, with further modifications regarding the passive design criteria and indicators. A comparative analysis of the model with international sustainability certification (rating) systems has been performed, proving the significance of introducing more passive design comfort (health) related criteria into sustainability assessment models. In addition, a focus group of expert architects contributed to the research conclusions by responding to a questionnaire addressing the issues of sustainability, comfort and passive design, in terms of the health and well-being of building users, which confirmed the relevance of applied passive design measures for providing comfort indoors and fulfilling sustainable development goals. © 2023 by the authors.

Autonomous Houses and Architecture of Cybernetics in the 1970s: Towards Limits and Undeveloped Potentials of the Sustainable

In 1969, English researcher Gordon Pask published an article named “The Architectural Relevance of Cybernetics”, defining a theoretical framework concerning a cybernetic theory of architecture. Throughout the 1970s, the Cambridge Research Group designed the Autonomous House, a self-sufficient dwelling in terms of energy and food. Part of the Cambridge group approach relates to cybernetics. However, the group did not regard several aspects of cybernetics described in the theoretical framework of Pask. Through a literature review primarily focused on 1970s architectural magazines, this paper analyses which cybernetic aspects were not regarded in the Cambridge Autonomous House and other similar houses as case studies. Through an innovative analytical method, it demonstrates that some limitations of the house design, such as the main focus on costs and technologies, could have been reduced if aspects of cybernetics had been more incorporated. Using cybernetics as a lens represents a method which can be beneficial also in analysing today’s examples of sustainable and autonomous architecture.

Impact of the Pandemic on the Sustainable Development of Metropolitan Residential Complexes

The article reviews sustainable architecture formation principles of the residential complex in Russia in the post-covid period. The situation has changed in three sociological coordinates: the usual way of life has been destroyed, the quality of life has been reduced with the threat of its radical fall, goals have changed and the possibility of long-term planning is lost. The authors conduct an analysis of the post-covid situation and derive new demands of citizens. It's about the cult of productivity has been replaced by a cult of health care, both physical and mental. Consequently, all vital structures should be within walking distance: centers for first aid and diagnostics, pharmacies, sports grounds and fitness centers. When designing residential complexes, emphasis should be placed on landscaping and improvement. New is the organization of spaces for urban agriculture. There is a return not to the pre-covid reality from which the population was expelled by the virus, but to a new state called the “new normal”—a life different from the previous one. The article reveals the concept and formulates the basic principles of the architectural design of quarter residential buildings, typical for large cities in different countries in modern conditions. The authors of this article confirm the need to unite the infrastructure in the space of the residential complex, which will ensure the satisfaction of the needs of all residents living in the residential unit. The new practice of urban planning implies the ability to live, work and spend leisure time within the same accessible territory. Architecture contributes to both the physical and emotional recovery of a person. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Balconies during COVID-19 lockdown: exploring the change in patterns of use in Cairo

Purpose: This paper questions the change in patterns of use of the balcony during lockdown. It investigates whether residents, specifically of apartment buildings in Cairo, used their balconies more frequently or for different activities during the lockdown. Design/methodology/approach: The study was conducted through a mixed methods approach. More specifically, a sequential explanatory design was adopted where quantitative data were collected at first followed by qualitative data collection. The study proceeded in two stages. First, an online questionnaire with 160 respondents was conducted to depict the change in the frequency and use patterns of balconies pre/post lockdown in Cairo. The respondents were approached through snowball sampling. Second, in-depth semi-structured interviews with 20 participants, approached through convenience sampling, were done. The interviews aimed to provide interpretation and rationale for the responses, patterns and correlations identified from the questionnaire results. Findings: The findings of this study confirm that there is a change in the pattern of use of balconies in terms of frequency and the types of hosted activities. The analysis revealed three key ideas that characterize those changes: the balcony as a found space, as a loose space and as a space of self-expression at home. It also expands on spatial qualities of balconies that promoted their use. The study emphasizes the significance of such outdoor private spaces in apartment buildings and puts forward balconies as an essential element of future dwellings design for the multiple benefits they behold. Originality/value: The originality of the study stems from tackling such a timely and unprecedented situation, where still few studies investigating the relationship between pandemic and the architecture of homes have been conducted. Furthermore, this study focuses particularly on exploring the use of balconies in Cairo, one of the largest cities in both Africa and the Middle East, during lockdown. Its findings might ultimately help formulate, define and characterize new trends in the architecture of homes that would embrace human needs in times of prosperity and rising tensions alike. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.