Ecological Architecture

Ecological landscape design must by definition blend a new structure’s design with the land. Architect Frank Lloyd Wright in fact stressed that structures are not built on the land but in the land to emphasize the connection between human-made structures and environment. Ecological architecture therefore goes hand in hand with ecological landscaping.

Ecological architecture has the following objectives for the purpose of building a connection between a new structure and nature:

• Buildings conform to a site’s natural ecology.
• Buildings maximize the use of natural materials.
• Materials and waste should be managed in a way that returns them to the Earth.
• Materials and wastes do not harm the environment.
• The architecture is based on renewable energy.
• Each building possesses a sense of place that is directly tied to the local environment.

 Nature is an overriding theme of ecological architecture, so houses built this way have certain features in common that seem to bring nature right into each room. These features are large windows, skylights, large doors opening onto natural stone patios or a garden, flowing natural water near or in the house, and an emphasis on sunlight during the day and moonlight and the Milky Way at night.

 In order to attain a feeling of cooperation between humans and nature, ecological architects create with form and function in mind, often by using Frank Lloyd Wright’s designs as models. Ecological architects also make use of sustainable materials, off the grid energy use, and they have recently begun to explore concepts of biomimicry. Ecological architecture creates designs for buildings that will emphasize the use of renewable resources, natural building materials, and nonfossil fuel energy, all for the purpose of reducing the building’s ecological footprint. The ecological footprint is the amount of Earth’s land area needed to supply the resources to sustain a person or an activity and dispose of the wastes.

Ecological architecture calls upon new technologies to help meet some of its objectives. The main technologies now being used in ecological architecture are alternative lighting methods, heat distribution, water conservation and reuse, and natural waste decomposition methods. Many of the clues as to how to accomplish these activities may already be part of human history. Ancient civilizations completed magnificent feats of architecture without the use of machinery or steel (but they did make liberal use of backbreaking manual labor). Nature offers its own set of examples on how to maximize lighting, distribute heat and cooling, ventilate, use natural water flow, and decompose wastes.