Environmentally - appropriate architectural works are considered by certain critics as relatively oriented without any theoretical basis other than a technicist perspective. Furthermore, this technicist approach, which puts emphasis on the application of scientific rationality, is supposed as being challenged through an arcadian agenda, which claims the return to pre-industrial values through the revival of the vernacular. In the thesis, it is argued that contrary to the assumptions that the green architecture is highly relativistic depending on the ideological standpoints, it is founded upon a holistic philosophy established on the studies pursued by post-war ecological scientists who followed systems approach. It is claimed that the aforementioned duality between the technicist and the arcadian approaches finds its expression in the contemporary green architecture depending on the philosophical framework provided by the systems approach. Systems sciences deal with the ways in which elements of a certain whole come together to make up an organization. Its main principle is that a particular element can only be studied with regard to the totality of which it belongs. Ecologists who endow a systems perspective study on the assembly rules through which living and nonliving members of biological systems are organized into groups. In this thesis, it is put forward that the philosophical outlook and methodology that came along with the systems thinking offers a basis for green architecture. It is provided a historical-analytical survey of the emergence of the systems approach in the architectural discipline since the 60s. It is argued that the 60s appropriation of the systems approach in architecture is still influential in the contemporary green architecture / that today&amp / #8217 / s architects utilize the theories and methods put forward throughout this process of appropriation in their works, alongside the scientific terminology developed by the systems ecologists.

Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Queensland, 2005. / Includes bibliography.

There is a large body of empirical evidence that nature delivers benefits to people. In the face of progressive urbanisation, urban nature and its design are becoming increasingly important. At the same time, climate change endangers biological diversity and consequently ecosystem functioning. Thus, for urban landscape planners who consider both ecosystem health and residential well-being, it is attractive to simultaneously increase plant diversity and the recreational value of urban nature. The present dissertation investigates the role of tree parameters for perception, preference, and recreation and elucidates how findings can contribute to human and ecosystem health in cities. In a first study, the following tree parameters were identified to be relevant to perception: Conifers versus deciduous trees, crown height to crown width ratio, crown size to trunk height ratio, and crown density. These results add to previous studies, as they are based on more realistic-looking images. Furthermore, the parameters are metric, were generated by study participants and represent a hierarchy. Two further studies demonstrated that the greater the crown relative to trunk height, the more pleasant and the more beautiful a tree is perceived and the denser a crown, the heavier and the more rugged a tree is perceived. Both parameters predict tree preference. This is consistent with theories and previous findings on landscape perception and adds more precise parameters for tree preference prediction to the literature. A fourth study revealed no effects of tree characteristics’ diversity in urban green spaces on how fascinating and coherent they are perceived. This suggests that species diversity in green spaces can be increased without reducing restorativeness. The identified tree parameters can be used to select various, similar-looking species to increase both human well-being and ecosystem health. Furthermore, the knowledge on the tree parameters’ semantic meaning can facilitate expert-lay communication. The preferred tree characteristics can be used to increase residential satisfaction. Finally, tree species diversity in urban green spaces can be increased without mitigating the recreational value. / Die positiven Wirkungen von Natur auf den Menschen sind empirisch gut belegt. Angesichts steigender Urbanisierung wird Stadtnatur und ihre Gestaltung wichtiger. Gleichzeitig stellt der Klimawandel eine Bedrohung der biologischen Vielfalt und somit der ökosystemaren Funktionalität dar. Für urbane Landschaftsplanung, welche sowohl die ökosystemare Gesundheit als auch das Wohlbefinden der Stadtbewohner berücksichtigt, ist es daher attraktiv, zugleich die Pflanzenvielfalt und den Erholungswert von Stadtnatur zu erhöhen. Die vorliegende Dissertation untersucht die Rolle von Baumparametern bei der Wahrnehmung, Präferenz und Erholungswirksamkeit und erläutert, wie die Ergebnisse zur Gesundheit von Mensch und Natur in Städten beitragen können. In einer ersten Studie wurden die folgenden Baumparameter als wahrnehmungsrelevant identifiziert: Nadelbäume versus Laubbäume, Verhältnis von Kronenhöhe zu Kronenbreite, Verhältnis von Kronengröße zu Stammlänge und Kronendichte. Diese Ergebnisse ergänzen bisherige Literatur, da sie auf realistischer aussehenden Bildern basieren. Zudem sind die Parameter metrisch, wurden von Probanden generiert und bilden eine Hierarchie ab. Zwei weitere Studien zeigten, dass je größer die Krone im Verhältnis zur Stammlänge desto angenehmer und schöner wird ein Baum wahrgenommen und je dichter die Krone desto schwerer und robuster wird ein Baum empfunden. Beide Parameter sagen die Baumpräferenz vorher. Dies stimmt mit Theorien und bisherigen Studien zur Landschaftswahrnehmung überein und ergänzt die Forschung um präzisere Parameter zur Vorhersage von Baumpräferenz. Eine vierte Studie ergab, dass sich die Vielfalt an Baumeigenschaften in städtischen Grünräumen nicht darauf auswirkt, wie faszinierend und kohärent sie wahrgenommen werden. Dies legt nahe, dass die Artenvielfalt in Grünräumen erhöht werden kann ohne die Erholungswirkung negativ zu beeinflussen. Die Baumparameter können dazu verwendet werden, verschiedene, ähnlich aussehende Arten zur Pflanzung auszuwählen, um das menschliche Wohlbefinden sowie die ökosystemare Gesundheit zu erhöhen. Des Weiteren kann das Wissen um die semantischen Bedeutungen der Baumparameter die Experten-Laien-Kommunikation erleichtern. Beliebte Baummerkmale können dazu herangezogen werden, die Zufriedenheit von Stadtbewohnern zu erhöhen. Schließlich kann die Baumartenvielfalt in städtischen Grünräumen erhöht werden ohne den Erholungswert zu mindern.

The work deals with the possibility of use the traditional knowledges and methods in construction with regards to today's lifestyle and technology, emphasizes the importance of the legacy, respect for countryside, individuality and surrounding environment. Above all I try to summarize the information about the current situation in architecture of family houses, which influence dominates in this area and which choices we have. I target especially the organic architecture mainly for wood constructions. At the beginning of the work I describe the issues of present architecture. I am dealing with the question if traditional and modern way of life must be in conflict, how we change our environment today and what could be the eventual effects for the future. The second part of the work is focused on the traditional vernacular architecture in South Bohemia, especially in the Bohemian Forest (Šumava) region, on types of construction, use and processing of materials and their integration into the countryside. The final part is applied to present ecology architecture. Firstly I summarize and identify the objects in general, subsequently I focus on the wood constructions, which correspond to traditional knowledge and experience in the manufacture and processing of wood.

In an age where the sharing economy has proliferated as a preferred means of travel in the tourism industry, and the accommodation sharing platform Airbnb has risen to the forefront, there is much criticism and discussion about the need for such nascent platforms to operate in alignment with sustainable development. Currently, economic benefits for the host and guest lie at the core of Airbnb’s sustainability appeal, while few concrete steps have been taken to advance environmental and social values. Many have proposed a green rating system and sustainability-oriented search filters as a means to propagate these values and catalyze a necessary paradigm shift within the sharing economy. Through the lens of green architecture and construction, this study analyzes the extent and manner in which sustainability features and amenities are promoted by hosts on Airbnb in the high-desert mountain town of Taos, New Mexico. This case study approach selects and intriguing destination that is not only characterized by a long history of earthen building traditions by the Tiwa people, but was also the birthplace of the world-renowned, off-the-grid Earthship concept. An analysis of all active Airbnb listings was compared with a more targeted analysis of off-the-grid listings to reveal that hosts more often than not frame their sustainability features and amenities in terms of visitor comfort, convenience, and enjoyment. For instance, the valorization of earthen adobe building for its authenticity and cultural appeal in lieu of its energy efficient and natural qualities. This indicated a high level of unexploited potential, wherein hosts could enhance their listing’s sustainability appeal and educational value through reframing these features to potential guests, and off-the-grid listings could benefit from implementing and promoting sustainable practices and emphasizing the local culture. Most importantly, after quantitively analyzing the features that arose, this study assembled the content basis for a theoretical green rating system and sustainability search filters that could be applied to Taos as a localized system, or merely provide insight to other destinations and the Airbnb platform as a whole.