Resources for ecological architecture. Volume 3, Intelligences of the Existing

The Presses des Mines, the École nationale supérieure d'architecture de Normandie, the ATE laboratory and the Renewable Natural Resources, Climate and Architecture Chair, have published the book Resources for Ecological Architecture. Volume 2, Climate and Atmospheres. This collective work is the result of the seminar "Climate, ambient resources in architecture", held in February 2023 at ENSA Normandie.
The book is under the direction of Noura Arab and François Fleury, teacher-researchers at the ATE laboratory.

Summary of the book
Since its beginnings, architecture has always been influenced by the climate, settling where it offered a favorable environment. But the climate is not only a resource for architecture, it is one of its raison d'être that has long shaped many of its characteristics. However, industrialization has not only standardized materials and construction methods, but also architectural forms and comfort, ignoring local climatic peculiarities. Fossil fuel consumption has been greatly increased, thus contributing to the global warming to which architecture must adapt today. Air conditioning is becoming more widespread, still consumes energy and contributes to increasing the urban heat island. How can we get out of this vicious circle?
It is time to rethink architecture as an interface between climate and atmosphere, by asking crucial questions in the face of the increasingly perceptible effects of climate change. This second volume on ecological architecture explores the consequences of the paradigm shift in considering the climate as a resource to be valued and no longer as a hazard from which we must protect ourselves.
It is crucial to put the climate context back at the heart of architectural design and encourage approaches that go beyond standardised environmental standards to ensure a sustainable and environmentally friendly lifestyle.

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visual: cover of Ressources pour l'architecture écologique. Tome 2, Climat et ambiances, Presses des Mines, 2024