What is the difference between bioclimatic design and green design in architecture?
Green architecture typically focuses on using recyclable materials, renewable energies, and minimizing wastes and energy consumption.
Bioclimatic architecture deals with biological and climatic aspects such as thermal comfort and some passive design strategies.
Sustainable architecture includes both bioclimatic and green considerations, however, those two are not necessarily sustainable.
There are examples of so-called green buildings that are not sustainable as they have neglected some important factors typically social or economic ones and sometimes they even fail in meeting environmental goals of sustainability.
I completely agree with you@Aryan Shahabian
Adding that the bioclimatic design is heading design towards climate adaptation while the green design tends design towards passive design and focus on reducing energy consumption, so both technologies are different.
Good question!
we can understand green design as the application of knowledge of various areas, bioclimatic design being one of them.
Just applying bioclimatic design does not give the building a green design seal, despite making the building climate-adapted.
Below I list a list of LEED criteria that I understand as green design. Few can be included in bioclimatic design.
Location and Transportation
Neighborhood Development Location
Sensitive Land Protection
High Priority Site
Surrounding Density and Diverse Uses
Access to Quality Transit
Bicycle Facilities
Reduced Parking Footprint
Green Vehicles
Sustainable Sites
Construction Activity Pollution Prevention
Site Assessment
Site Development - Protect or Restore Habitat
Open Space
Rainwater Management
Heat Island Reduction
Light Pollution Reduction
Water Efficiency
Outdoor Water Use Reduction
Indoor Water Use Reduction
Building-Level Water Metering
Outdoor Water Use Reduction
Indoor Water Use Reduction
Cooling Tower Water Use
Water Metering
Energy and Atmosphere
Fundamental Commissioning and Verification
Minimum Energy Performance
Building-Level Energy Metering
Fundamental Refrigerant Management
Enhanced Commissioning
Optimize Energy Performance
Advanced Energy Metering
Demand Response
Renewable Energy Production
Enhanced Refrigerant Management
Green Power and Carbon Offsets
Materials and Resources
Storage and Collection of Recyclables
Construction and Demolition Waste Management Planning
Building Life-Cycle Impact Reduction
"Building Product Disclosure and Optimization - Environmental Product
Declarations"
Building Product Disclosure and Optimization - Sourcing of Raw Materials
Building Product Disclosure and Optimization - Material Ingredients
Construction and Demolition Waste Management
Indoor Environmental Quality
Minimum Indoor Air Quality Performance
Environmental Tobacco Smoke Control
Enhanced Indoor Air Quality Strategies
Low-Emitting Materials
Construction Indoor Air Quality Management Plan
Indoor Air Quality Assessment
Thermal Comfort
Interior Lighting
Daylight
Quality Views
Acoustic Performance
Aryan Shahabian I completely agree with you
In my view, sustainable architecture encompasses both parts, and bioclimatic design is a subset of green design.
Akbar Rahman my answer confirm what already said.
Bioclimatic design focuses on location climate characteristics that influence performance of buildings and urban areas in relation to how people react and adapt to them. In this case, among other factors, are important the latitude and the climate of the area and the micro-climate of specific location.
Green design in architecture is a very generic term, often misused, that indicate a much broader approach that involve other aspects such as the life cycle of buildings, waste treatment, water management and all the possible factors that make a building sustainable.
The need for energy-efficient, bioclimatic and environmental, concept of architectural structures have caused on the one hand, a whole new scientific discipline called bioclimatic design, and on the other hand, it can be said that it is a return to the beginning or to home architecture.
Bioclimatic design is about climatic adaptability and adaptive building design. However, the notion of building adaptability needs to be explored, now and in the future, understanding what do we need to adapt, what is it that we need to adapt to and where and when do we need to adapt. Green design on other hand is often misused term, but in principle should encompass bioclimatic design.
In addition to these fine replies I would look at bio facades for example the BIQ building in Hamburg. See how Nature can be integrated into the facade.
Dear Prof. D.J. Clements-Croome
Thank you for additional information. A good building, can be an inspiration for architects. The following article describes the building.
https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/25/business/energy-environment/german-building-uses-algae-for-heating-and-cooling.html
Good explanations already have been said. For more interpretation and knowledge, try to have a look on these references.
- Wines, James, and Philip Jodidio. Green architecture. Vol. 240. Köln: Taschen, 2000.
- Vale, Brenda, Robert Vale, and Ron Doig. Green architecture: design for a sustainable future. London: Thames and Hudson, 1991.
- Olgyay, Victor. Design with climate: bioclimatic approach to architectural regionalism. Princeton University Press, 2015.
- Gaitani, N., G. Mihalakakou, and M. Santamouris. "On the use of bioclimatic architecture principles in order to improve thermal comfort conditions in outdoor spaces." Building and Environment 42, no. 1 (2007): 317-324.
Agree with much of the above. But it is also important to remember that, as typically implemented, bioclimatic and green design are both much smaller in scope than sustainable design/development because the former don't give attention to the social, political and institutional context and consequences of design decision-making which the sd does (at its most inclusive).
Dear Ian, I think it is important to look at design as a practice and under the broad term of green design we will find a plethora of design cultures and practices, engaging with different aspects of environmental design and sustainability, including human factors. Some of these practices have a long history. I have explored historic practices of environmental design engaging with questions of user experience and participation in my recent article in BRI.
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