Environmental ethics and the progressive approach re evaluating purpose and practice in architecture

Abstract

quotEnvironmental sustainability has two important aspects, one is the interactive social behavior with the built environment, of the individual and the community as a whole newline the HABIT, and the second is the physical structure the HABITAT. These two aspects newlinemake the whole system work and make it sustainable. Out of the two equally important newlineaspects, the aspects of physical structure have been given considerably more importance, newlinewhereas the aspects of interactive social behavior have not been researched to the adequate newlineextent. This thesis focuses on the aspects of habit, habitat and its impact on sustainability of newlinebuildings and on social housing and community buildings because of the involvement of newlinecollective intelligence of the inhabitants in interaction with the built environment. newlineThis thesis studies three examples of architectural systems, a natural system newlinetermite mound, a vernacular system Pol housing of Ahmedabad, and a contemporary newlinesystem Auroville. It also attempts to find out similarities in terms of both the aspects of newlinehabit and habitat physiological and physical aspects among all the three systems. This newlineresearch tries to understand social processes and involvement in creation, existence and newlineevolution of community establishments. Theoretical framework for this research is based on newlinethe phenomenon of self-creation of architecture as a living system. This research newlineinvestigates morphological and physiological behavior of all the three systems and then newlineanalyzes the building evolution process, with focus on collective social behavior and social newlineinteraction patterns of inhabitants. newlineThere are conceptual similarities in termite mounds, vernacular buildings and newlinecontemporary systems based on the aspects of habit and habitat. Aspects of collective social newlinebehavior and its physical manifestation are compared among all the three systems. The need newlineto look beyond form-generation and structural mimesis through biomimicry, has led to newlineemergence of environmentally conscious progressive layered approach.