Introduction

This third International Conference on Harmonisation between Architecture and Nature (Eco-Architecture 2010) follows the two successful meetings which were held in the New Forest, UK (2006) and in the Algarve, Portugal (2008).

Eco-Architecture ought to be in harmony with nature, including its immediate environs. Decisions have to be taken on ecological grounds concerning locations, siting and orientation, as well as the well-informed choice of materials.

Eco-Architecture can provide imaginative and expressive solutions and is driven by a generation of highly creative designs. It has important cultural as well as architectural impacts.

Eco-Architecture makes every effort to minimise the use of energy at each stage of the building’s life cycle, including that embodied in the extraction and transportation of materials, their fabrication, their assembly into the building and ultimately the ease and value of their recycling when the building’s life is over. The design may also take into consideration the use of energy in building maintenance and changes in its use, not to mention its lighting, heating and cooling, particularly where the energy consumed involves the emission of greenhouse gases. Substantial savings can be achieved by the choice of materials appropriate for passive energy systems, especially natural ventilation, summer shading and winter solar heat gain. Solar and wind energy can provide heating and electric power.

The development of Eco-Architecture is driven by the depletion of natural resources and the need to preserve the balance of nature. The extensive use of steel and glass and the built-in problems of discomfort from solar overheating and winter heat loss, has led to the widespread use of mechanical systems which, by careful design, could have been avoided in almost any climate.

Eco-Architecture is by definition inter-disciplinary; it requires the collaboration of engineers, planners, physicists, psychologists, sociologists, economists, and other specialists, in addition to architects.

The aim of the conference is to provide a forum for discussing the many relevant aspects of Eco-Architecture including, but by no means restricted to, those in the list of topics shown.