Main influences on the design philosophy and knowledge basis to bioclimatic integration into architectural design—The example of best practices

This paper studies the influence of architectural education and early experience of the work of a group pf architects, whose work shows strong features of bioclimatic integration (such as Lele and Severiano Porto in Brazil and Spencer de Grey and Mario Cucinella in Europe). The first analysis of their individual experiences, through semi-structured interviews, indicates that the integration of bioclimatic concepts into design is beyond the development or improvement of tools. First of all, it is fundamental that these concepts are part of the design philosophy of the professional, which is determinant on the application of research and innovation in architectural practice. Therefore, before the tools, the formal education can be a tool to promote the inclusion of these principles as part of their design philosophy, influencing the approach to design. It happened in the cases in which there was a commitment of the school to develop a technical knowledge basis in building physics into studio activities, highlighting the aesthetic character of environmental integration. This basis was consolidated in the contact with the building site construction, which also strengthened their ethical commitment regarding the quality of the built object. It has the potential to generate confidence in the consideration of these issues, also making it easier to get the right information from available resources and tools, via a critical understanding of the different issues.