Introduction

This fourth International Conference on Harmonisation between Architecture and Nature (Eco-Architecture 2012) follows the three successful previous meetings which were held in the New Forest, UK (2006); in the Algarve, Portugal (2008) and in A Coruña, Spain (2010).

The development of Eco-Architecture is driven by the depletion of natural resources and the need to preserve the balance of nature.

Eco-Architecture provides imaginative and expressive solutions and is characterized by the generation of highly creative designs. It has important cultural as well as architectural impacts.

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

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 takes into consideration the use of energy in building maintenance and changes in its use, as well as 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. Renewable energy resources can provide heating and electric power.

Eco-Architecture is by definition interdisciplinary; 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.