buildings
Article
Natural and Architectural Convergence: A Model of
Nature-Based Strategies in the Architectural Design Domain
Chra Hunar Ahmed 1, *
and Hoshyar Qadir Rasul 2
1
2
*
Department of Architecture, College of Engineering, Salahaddin University, Erbil 44002, Iraq
Department of City Planning Engineering, College of Technical Engineering, Sulaimani Polytechnic
University (SPU), Sulaymaniyah 46001, Iraq; hoshyar.rasul@spu.edu.iq
Correspondence: chra.ahmed@su.edu.krd; Tel.: +964-0750-7066002
Abstract: Nature is the major source and basis for architectural design. It is beyond human ability to
create the same unlimited changes and dimensions. One of the key actors in minimizing negative
impacts on nature and the environment is the architect. Due to the different uses of nature in
architectural design and the interdisciplinarity between the approaches and aspects of nature, this
study aimed to explore the contributions of nature-based strategies to the architectural design
domain and identify the comprehensive relationship between nature and architecture. Through using
logical argument, the nature-based strategies of architectural design were classified according to
four categories of architectural design principles in a predicted model. For testing and validating
the model, one strategy, which included nine nature-based approaches of architectural design with
23 aspects, was evaluated, and the scopes of the approaches were identified. VOSviewer was used
for data analysis, and the survey questionnaire method was used for the focus group of architects to
evaluate Erbil City’s architectural design. In this survey, 328 responses were received, which were
ranked using the four-point Likert scale (most of the time, some of the time, seldom, and never),
and the t-test from SPSS software was used to compare the approaches of the selected nature-based
strategy. The passive design was the only approach with a positive value from the t-test (3.805) with
a p-value of 0.000. Among these 23 evaluated aspects, natural ventilation received the highest mean
value (1.91).
Citation: Ahmed, C.H.; Rasul, H.Q.
Natural and Architectural
Keywords: nature; architectural design; nature-based strategies; nature_architecture model
Convergence: A Model of
Nature-Based Strategies in the
Architectural Design Domain.
Buildings 2023, 13, 2015. https://
doi.org/10.3390/buildings13082015
Academic Editor: Nikos
A. Salingaros
Received: 14 June 2023
Revised: 31 July 2023
Accepted: 2 August 2023
Published: 7 August 2023
Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
4.0/).
1. Introduction
The environment provides common prosperity that belongs to everyone, and it is intended for everyone; thus, everyone has a role to play in preventing local and global climate
changes [1]. Environmental issues began to have an increased prominence on the global
agenda in the early 1990s, as the public’s knowledge of the effects of unchecked climate
change was growing; it is now obvious that creating a connection between architecture
and the environment is crucial [2]. The connection between the natural environment and
architecture has always been essential, and many architects have recognized the necessity
of creating a link with the surrounding environment throughout history and have taken
steps to achieve this connection through their works [2]. From the oldest cave homes and
crude huts built completely of natural materials to the towering skyscrapers of our century,
made up of manufactured grids of glass, steel, and concrete, there have always been diverse
relationships between architecture and nature [3].
The symbol is the analogy between natural and architectural homology, in which
architecture is a symbolic imitation of nature, and there is a great endeavor to recognize the
language of nature via harmonic and symmetric arrangements in architecture. The symbolic
concept refers to obtaining goodness, fairness, beauty (aesthetic), and ethics [4]. Ecological
thinking is the acknowledgment of the dynamic unity between nature and architecture,
Buildings 2023, 13, 2015. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13082015
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/buildings
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the respect for what is already there, and the associated openness to other people [5].
Regarding nature, the form and functional arrangement are significant elements to help
reduce the building’s negative effects on the environment and are the most practical and
cost-effective connection for improving building efficiency, performance, and feasibility [6].
Many solutions, questions, and complaints have been proposed regarding the connections
and relationships between nature and architecture; the number of historical examples
illustrates the relationship between nature and architecture in the past. Today’s architecture
has advanced beyond the spiritual, symbolic, and aesthetic uses of natural forms to an
extremely sophisticated approach to bioinspired performance-based building designs.
The incorporation of biological systems, biological processes, and natural science are all
innovative applications of the strategies of bio-inspiration approaches of architectural
design [7]. Today’s most developed technologies at micro- and nano-scales provide us with
a better understanding of new sources of knowledge, inspirations from nature, and natural
functions in architectural design, such as the strategies used by animals and plants to adapt
to their surrounding environment without having any negative impact on ecosystem [8,9].
Nature can inspire us: First is visual inspiration, which includes forms, shapes, and
patterns in nature. Second, conceptual inspiration involves obtaining a grasp of natural processes. Third, computational inspiration involves the environment’s computing processes
and our capacity to mimic them [10]. Architectural shapes inspired by nature are one of
the three strategies of interaction between nature and architecture; the others include architectural forms that are solidly associated with the context of landscapes, and architectural
shapes that are characterized by natural materials. There are always admirable and perfect
regulations between man, nature, and architecture [11]. The architecture components that
inspired from nature are; the type of materials including programmable, bio-reactor, and
mechanical materials; the elements of building behavior, including structure, materials,
interior elements, building systems, and building envelopes. Additionally, building behavior targets, including efficient materials, efficient structures, indoor air quality, energy
efficiency, water efficiency, air quality, visual comfort, and thermal comfort [12], with acoustic comfort as one of the proper design considerations for efficient structure design [13,14].
The use of nature-inspired materials in bio-engineering and architectural design was inspired by these biological materials that were difficult to harvest in bulk, and toxic in their
direct applications, such as hair, bone, and nacre. The nature-inspired materials have the
characteristics of multifunctional abilities with reliability and high mechanical resilience
in different scales of implementations and their functions are similar to the functions of
natural materials [15]. Brick technology can successfully incorporate fractal geometries and
waste materials to produce environmentally friendly solutions with improved structural
and acoustic characteristics. Ground-recycled tire rubber and fractal-shaped cavities can be
combined to create hollow concrete bricks that are lightweight, acoustically efficient, and
environmentally friendly. This has led to the development of increased mechanical strength,
structural effectiveness, and sound absorption of buildings [16]. Moreover, inspiration
from natural mechanisms will help in solving problems in different fields; for example,
the overflow behavior in the mechanisms of surface wetting properties in microstructure
control led to methods to control macroscale liquid dynamics [17]. Whereas the designer
and architects aspire to learn from nature and to drive an optimum solution from it, nature
has mastered how to most efficiently obtain a multifunctional structure. The majority of
the current works are an imitation of a form in nature, in which the simulations and digital
tools are used in the application of complex structures [18]. For architectural design and
building construction nature has been the main source of inspiration in different ways and
for different degrees of complexity. Le Corbusier, in his Modulor, incorporated the rules
of the Fibonacci series to control building dimensions at a very simple level based on the
distribution of plant petals [19]. According to Pohl, the inspiration from nature must be
well abstracted inside of the context of an interdisciplinary imitation, rather than the direct
interpretations. Thus, understanding the biological principles, searching for them, and
transferring them to solving design problems are not simple tasks for architects [20].
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The relationship between nature and architecture in the previous studies was more
focused on a single phrase or simple categorizations; no research studies have structured
the comprehensive relationship between nature and architecture. Therefore, the main aim
of this study was to predict a comprehensive model of the strategies of nature inspirations
according to the architectural design principles.
1.1. The Study Background
1.1.1. Architectural Design Principle
Architecture, distinct from construction-related fields, is the art and practice of designing and building. Architecture is a discipline that satisfies both functional and expressive
needs, and it serves both humanistic and aesthetic goals [21]. According to the Roman
architect and engineer Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, what represents architecture are firmatis
(strength), which must be strong and in good condition; utilitas (utility), which should be
beneficial and practical for the users; and venustatis (beauty), which should be pleasant and
positive for everyone [22]. From Vitruvius’ representation of the principles of architectural
ff
design, different models
were proposed; function, form, and meaning are the three dominant principles of architectural design, and the secondary principles are context, modality,
and will, which are an application of views of Vitruvius: function (utilitas), construction (firmitas), and aesthetics (venustas). On the one hand, construction falls under the secondary
principle of modality, which is derived from the dominant principles of form; on the other
hand, aesthetics does not belong to the dominant principle of meaning but rather to the
secondary principle of will [23]. In the same manner, the model of function–form–meaning
is a major– part –of architectural design: function is analogous to an idea or representation;
form is analogous to an object or medium; and meaning is analogous to an interpretation
and communication. One of the advantages of this model is that it can be used as a guide to
explain the mutual and harmonious relationship among principles of architectural design,
shown in Figure 1 [24].
Figure 1. The three main aspects of architectural design (function–form–meaning). Reproduced from
Ref. [24].
The three domain principles involved in the idea and philosophy of architectural
design are space, structure, and enclosure, in which space involves certain activities and
functions, the structure consists of any technological applications, and enclosure is the
real form of the building. Movement (motion) in space-time is the means through which
the combination of the mentioned three principles is achieved [25]. Any emphasis on
architectural design should be directed toward these three crucial principles of function,
construction, and form; the form from this model depends on geometric order [26]. So,
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the summarized main principles of architectural design domain were form, function, and
concept which illustrated in Figure 2.
Figure 2. The summarized principles of architectural design based on the literature.
1.1.2. Nature-Based Strategies of Architectural Design
A strategy is a plan created to accomplish a certain goal [27]. Design strategy is a
systematic regulation of approaches to improve solutions and obtain particular goals [28].
Aspect can be viewed as a specific component or element of an environment, concept,
issue, etc. [29]. The various aspects of nature have had an impact on architecture, with
biology having been increasingly included in the activities of the design process [30].
The environmental design strategy aspects include consideration of how to encourage
positive engagement with buildings and environments [31]. Nature-based strategies are
interdisciplinary and complex, so architects should understand the process of framing
natural inspirations in design, in addition to improving our knowledge, behaviors, and
sustainable thinking by taking advantage of rich sources of nature [32].
Intelligence and the ability to save energy, be self-sustaining, and efficiently use
ffi The building
resources are the most well-known strategies of natural systems [33,34].
orientation, shading devices, cost efficiency, and natural ventilation of buildings are the
ffi design approach. They related to computational inspicommon aspects of a sustainable
rations; in more detail, using a passive solar design approach, the building will receive
solar radiation in the winter while solar radiation is blocked during the summer by using
shading devices [35]. The visual, conceptual, and computational inspirations are the three
main contributions of nature to architectural design. These approaches of architectural
design, which relate to nature, can be classified according to these three inspirations. The
common approaches of nature-based inspirations in architectural design from the literature
are compiled below:
1.
The approaches of computational inspirations:
Bioclimatic architecture
When discussing the mechanisms of the interaction between the environment and
architecture, we consider the interaction between a structure’s systems and its surroundings, particularly through its “microclimate”, e.g., ensuring thermal comfort levels for its
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occupants/users. Building designs that adhere to bioclimatic architecture enable higher
levels of comfort by using appropriate architectural components and avoiding a total reliance on mechanical systems. The bioclimatic approach to architecture originated from the
design principles seen in the large majority of regional and traditional structures around
the world [36]. The first use of bioclimatic architecture in the form of a blueprint was used
by Olgyay in 1950 to 1953 as nature-inspired strategies in architectural design [37].
Green architecture
A construction approach known as “green architecture” or “green design”, which has
existed since the 1950s [38], seeks to reduce the negative effects on both the environment
and human health. By using eco-friendly building materials and construction techniques,
the “green” architect or designer seeks to protect the water, air, and soil [39,40].
Eco-design
Eco-design is a philosophy as well as a strategy of design. It entails incorporating
regulations throughout a service’s or a product’s lifecycle. Predicting and reducing harmful
environmental effects (from the manufacturing, use, and disposal of products) is the primary objective of eco-design. Eco-design also maintains a product’s quality level following
its recommended use [41]. In addition, the ecological strategic approach takes into account
the physical mechanisms, such as water and energy [42]. By maintaining or improving
the material and social circumstances that affect people’s health and the environment over
time without going beyond the ecological capacities that support them, we supposedly
practice sustainability [43]. Thus, eco-design is a return to the sustainability concept, and it
appeared in the first wave of the modern movement in 1962 [44].
Passive design
Passive design as another environmental strategy may be helpful in the advancement
of sustainability in a healthy built environment since passive construction is an excellent
approach to conserving energy for sustainability [45]. The first use of passive design was
in the middle of the 1970s [46], and it makes use of breezes and sun while simultaneously
blocking out unwanted heat and cold [47].
Sustainability
The building’s shape, positioning, construction method, and its relationship to the
topography are of prime significance for environmentally conscious architectural codes in
a building to result in sustainable architecture. Sustainable construction practices include
minimizing maintenance costs using forethought, recycling, ensuring building energy
efficiency, conserving water, and reducing material waste [48]. As a philosophical and
comprehensive concept, it was used after the Brundtland report in 1987 [49].
Eco-efficiency
Eco-efficiency is the combination of the economy and environment, which are two
dimensions of sustainability pillars; it is a type of sustainability system that includes
socio-economic, eco-efficiency, and socio-ecological indicators [50], as shown in Figure 3.
Eco-friendly
The key philosophy of eco-friendly, “earth-friendly”, or “environmentally friendly” is
“in danger of being lost. Healthier living for all the inhabitants and plants will be provided,
and it will be equal to “going green” and “sustainability”. The most common characteristics
of eco-friendly designs are the conservation of natural resources such as water and energy,
reducing pollution of water, air, and soil, providing bio-diversity, respecting the ecosystem,
reducing the negative impact on humans and the environment, and using recyclable
materials [51].
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Figure 3. The position of eco-efficiency in the three pillars of sustainability, adapted from Ref. [50].
Cradle to Cradle
ffi
Cradle to Cradle was developed in 1990 by William McDonough and Michael Braungart; it can be characterized as an invention that takes into account the quality of the
materials, water, air, biodiversity, enhancement of natural sun rays, and the processes for
reusing, recycling, and recovering [52].
Zero Energy Buildings
Buildings are crucial in creating plans for sustainable development since they have a
significant impact on global energy and carbon emissions. Introduced in the early 2000s [53],
the popularity of zero-energy buildings (ZEBs) has grown recently; several countries have
chosen or are considering establishing ZEBs as their future building energy objectives to
address difficulties with the depletion of the energy supply and the degradation of the
environment. “ZEBs are buildings that produce and use an amount of energy that is exactly
equal to their annual needs” [54].
2.
The approaches of visual inspiration:
Geomorphic architecture
Buildings with geomorphic architecture are those that are inspired by nature, take
their symbolism from a natural process, offer an experiential equivalent to that found in
nature, fit into the natural contour of the land, and are combined with the landscape to
form a single entity, or are partially or entirely earth-sheltered [55].
ffi
Zoomorphic design
Zoomorphic refers to human-made forms that resemble animals in shape or appearance. Since the beginning of time, artists have manufactured zoomorphic designs by
incorporating non-animal forms with characteristics inspired by animalistic forms [56].
Anthropomorphic design
ff of the human form as a symbol and metaphor.
Anthropomorphism is the imitation
“The idea of the relationship of the body and architecture is an analogy that had been with
us in one form or another forever” [57].
Biomorphic design
Biomorphic architecture refers to a direct conception that is affected by the organic
forms of the human body, animals, and plants [58].
Biomorphology is the study of the structure and organization of living organisms
and the organs, tissues, and cells that make them up. Structural morphology “refers to
functional design in technology and functional anatomy in biology”, and micromorphology
is the examination and characterization of the shape of small details, which is a genuine
great resource for useful forms [59].
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3.
The approaches of conceptual inspirations:
Evolutionary architecture
This process progresses from abstraction, which includes concept and design derivation, using concretization, which concentrates on translating the concepts into design components and aspects to be combined into the overall product design. Similar to what was
proposed, the framework approach alternates between divergence and convergence [60].
Metabolic architecture
The catabolic and anabolic processes of the body’s systems are described by metabolism,
a movement that emerged and was inspired by biological metaphor and genetic design. It
was a response to environmental disasters, human catastrophes, and natural disasters like
earthquakes and tsunamis [61].
Parametric architecture
How the dimensions relate to one another is the definition of parametric design. It
was later expanded to create parametric modeling, which is the representation of geometric
relationships based on computational methods [62].
Regenerative architecture
Intelligent limits, incorporating entire system designs, intelligent structure, the community’s perspective, and the appropriate ecology are the most crucial regenerative architecture principles [63].
4.
The combination:
Organic architecture
According to Louis Sullivan, the concept of “organic” in architecture refers to a broad
approach that includes ideas like organisms, functions, growth, development, shape, and
structure [64].
Bionic architecture
The key premise of bionic architecture is learning from nature for the sake of technology or understanding nature with the aid of technology. This means that bionic is a word
that was created by combining “biology” and “technology” [65].
Biomimicry
Biomimicry is a strategy for sustainable development. In its broadest sense, it imitates
or draws creative inspiration from nature’s systems, ideas, procedures, and functions to
construct a long-lasting future [66].
Biophilic architecture
The core principle of biophilic architecture is the process of integrating nature’s characteristics into the built environment or giving life to buildings, known as biophilic design.
It relates to human health, human well-being, physiological advantages, and performance
enhancement [67]. The aesthetic preference for the complex geometric properties of natural
scenes can also be found in the building’s artificial structures, which the parameters of natural scaling hierarchy and of either fractal graphics or of ornaments will increase the visual
organization if the relationship between them was interesting it will positively impact on
both physical and mental health [68]. Using the strategies of fractal fluency of nature in
the building design will have a positive impact on aesthetic experience and physiological
stress reduction of the observers, such as fractal floor patterns, fractal window shades, and
fractal solar panels will have to improve salutogenesis [69]. Additionally, the utilization of
urban space will be more attractive by using the integrations of multiple fractals, biophilia,
and traditional architecture, and it affects the user experience by providing the aesthetic
value of visual urban perception, which encourages walkability, natural navigation with
positive effects on health and well-being [70].
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Thus, computational inspirations, visual inspirations, conceptual inspirations, and a
combination of them are used as nature-based strategies for systematic regulations of these
approaches of architectural design related to nature. These nature-based strategies have a
convergence relationship with the dominant principles of architecture: function, form, and
concept. In a way that the computation of nature has been used in the functional principle
of architecture, the visual appearance of nature has been used in the formal principle of
architecture, the concept of nature has been used in the idea and conceptual principle of
architecture, and it was the same for the combinations between them.
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Data Analysis
Through reviewing the existing literature on the nature inspirations of design and
the most common theories of architectural design principles, nature’s contributions to
architectural design were identified. Nature-based strategies in architectural design were
classified into four categories: form, function, concept, and combination. This study
predicted a model of nature’s contributions to architectural design based on these four
named categories. Moreover, this research was focused on a functional nature-based
strategy for testing and validating the model. VOSviewer was used to construct a set of
criteria and key aspects of a functional nature-based strategy involving nine approaches
(bioclimatic architecture, green architecture, eco-design, passive design, sustainability, ecoefficient design, eco-friendly design, cradle-to-cradle, and zero energy buildings), whose
aspects are related to environmental behaviors.
On 21 December 2021, 450 research articles from Scopus were accessed that are
related to nine selected approaches; they were analyzed using the VOSviewer (https:
//www.vosviewer.com/ accessed on 13 December 2021), a program for visualizing and
creating bibliometric networks. These networks can be built utilizing citations, co-citations,
bibliographic coupling, or co-authorship relationships, and they can contain journals, researchers, or individual articles. To create and display co-occurrence networks of significant
phrases taken from a body of scientific literature, VOSviewer additionally provides a text or
keyword mining capability [71]. The data were scanned before entering into this software
tool, including the title and the abstract of the articles. The search keywords were related to
“aspects”, “environmental behaviors target or environmental strategies”, and “architectural
design”. The outcome included the aspects of occurrences of these selected approaches.
The size of the circles is illustrated according to the number of occurrences of each
aspect; the summarized aspects include temperature, thermal comfort, saving, energy performance, air, heat, envelop, light, insulation, energy demand, window, natural ventilation,
orientation, cooling, opening, performance evaluation, waste, environmental pollution,
natural resource, life cycle assessment, greenhouse gas emission, CO2 emission, carbon
emission, fossil fuel, consumption, renewable energy, wind, and reuse. As shown in
Figure 4.
The six categories shown as different colors were classified according to the user’s desire. These aspects were edited into 23 main aspects of architectural design targets because
they contained repetitions, and some of them consisted of only one word. Simulation is not
used for finding and rating systems, but it was the most common method of evaluating
environmental behavioral targets in architecture [72]. In this research, because of the large
number of approaches (9) and their aspects (23), a survey questionnaire was used to evaluate their contribution to Erbil City’s architectural design. Erbil (Hawler in Kurdish), the
largest city in Iraqi Kurdistan, has been consistently inhabited for 6000 years [73]. Climate
change and the problems of natural resource decline are the main reasons for its selection
as the setting for the survey questionnaire.
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Figure 4. The “aspects” and “environmental behaviors target or environmental strategies” and
“architectural design” as keywords in the VOSviewer analysis.
2.2. Evaluation (Survey Method)
ff
Between December 2022 and March 2023, a face-to-face survey questionnaire and
online survey tool “Google Forms” in English and Kurdish were prepared for the focus
groups of architects who have designed projects in Erbil City, as shown in third step in
Figure 5. The data on the participants obtained from the Kurdistan Engineers Union
showed that the number of architects in Erbil City was 2060 on 31 December 2022, and
the number of architecture office buildings was 93, most of which were visited during
the survey. From the survey, the architects could choose from the 23 aspects, the ones
tt
that they regarded as important
in their designs, and rated the aspects according to a
four-point Likert scale (most of the time, some of the time, seldom, and never). A total of
328 responses were obtained from this survey, and the responses from never to most of the
time were assigned a value from zero to three. The data were imported into SPSS version
25 and Excel 2018, and the results were described as numbers, percentages, means, and
standard deviations (SD). The t-test was used to compare means between the approaches
of functional nature-based strategy in Erbil City’s architectural design.
ffi
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Figure 5. The diagram of levels and steps of the research methodology.
3. Results
3.1. Results of Literature Analysis
3.1.1. Nature-Based Strategies in Architectural Design
Using the literature on nature-based strategies and the dominant architectural design
principles, the structure of nature’s contributions to architectural design was illustrated
in a diagram (Figure 6). The nature-based strategies, their approaches, and the aspects
were divided into the four main architectural design domains (function, form, concept, and
combinations of these principles).
From the diagram, bioclimatic architecture, green architecture, eco-design, passive
design, sustainability, eco-efficient design, eco-friendly design, cradle-to-cradle, and zeroenergy buildings were assigned as the functional nature-based strategy of architectural
ffi
design because they are dependent on natural environmental behaviors. The approaches
of zoomorphism, geomorphic, anthropomorphism, and biomorphism were assigned as
the formal nature-based strategy of architectural design because they are dependent on
the formal imitation of nature. In addition, the approaches of metabolic architecture,
evolutionary design, parametric design, and regenerative architecture were assigned as the
conceptual nature-based strategy of architectural design because their designs are based
on conceptual inspiration from nature. The approaches of organic architecture, bionic
architecture, biomimicry, and biophilic design were assigned as the combined nature-based
strategy of architectural design because, in these approaches, nature contributed to more
than one principle of design. The functional nature-based strategy of architectural design
(Figure 7) was the main topic of this research.
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Figure 6. The diagram of nature-based strategies within architectural design principle.
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Figure 7. The structure of aspects and the approaches of a functional nature-based strategy of
architectural design.
After classifying the nature-based strategies according to the four architectural domains (function, form, concept, and combination), seven options of the models were
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extracted from this classification in Figure 8. which were arranged into point, linear, and
comprehensive relationships between the nature inspirations and architectural principles. The models of nature inspirations include function, form, concept, function–form,
–
function–concept,
models.
–
–form–concept, and function–form–concept
–
–
Figure 8. The models of nature-based strategies converge to the architectural design principles.
3.1.2. Predicted Nature–Architecture Model
The general model of the relationship between nature and architecture, which is in the
form of a pyramid, was divided into three levels of contributions: the first level (the base of
the pyramid) contained the name of nature-based strategies, including functional strategy,
formal strategy, conceptual strategy, and combined strategy; the approaches were in the
second level, and the aspects were in the third level of the pyramid. All the levels were
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divided according to the principal contributions; the top of the pyramid was left for future
development, as shown in Figure 9.
Figure 9. The model of the relationship between nature and architectural design.
3.1.3. Functional Nature-Based Strategy of Architectural Design
According to literature on the functional nature-based strategy of architectural design
the key philosophy of each approach was listed in Table 1. Which it revealed the main
differences between them.
ff
Table 1. The key philosophies of a functional nature-based strategy of architectural design.
No.
Approach
Key Philosophy
1
Sustainability
Balancing environment, social, and economic factors [74]
2
Eco-efficient design
Economic and environmental maintenance [50]
3
ffi
Passive design
Climate and comfort (less heat loss and heat gain) [45]
4
Bioclimatic architecture
Adaption to the local climate [36]
5
Green architecture
Reduce effects on the environment and human health [39,40]
6
Zero energy buildings
Self-sufficient
buildings (energy efficiency
and renewable energy generation) [54]
ffi
ffi
7
Eco-friendly design
Earth-friendly, environmentally friendly, in danger of being lost [51]
8
Eco-design
A design according to the ecological process [41]
9
Cradle to Cradle
Less negative impact (life cycle of product: manufacturing, distribution, usage,
recovery, and reuse) [52]
ff
Next, the most common aspects of each approach are listed in Table 2, with the
hierarchy of importance for each aspect appearing for each approach. For instance, for
passive design, energy efficiency, heat gain, and heat loss are more significant than other
ffi approaches.
aspects of the other
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Table 2. The aspects of a functional nature-based strategy of architectural design.
Approach
Aspect
Functional strategy:
Bioclimatic Architecture
Improved indoor environmental quality
Less energy consumption
Human comfort [75]
Green architecture
Less impact on human health
Less impact on the environment
Protect air, water, and soil
Efficient use of materials
Efficient use of energy
Indoor environmental quality
Less waste
Less pollution
Promote recycling [38]
Eco-design
Less impact on the environment and humans
Efficient energy consumption
Efficient water consumption
Less ground wastes
Less noise and vibrations
Less air pollution
Material efficiency [44]
Passive design
Building orientation
Window design
Thermal mass
Heat gain and heat loss
Natural ventilation
Thermal insulation [76]
Performance of acoustic insulation [13,14]
5
Sustainability
Sustainable site design
Efficient use of water
Energy efficiency
Improved indoor environment quality
Natural resources and materials [77]
6
Eco-efficient Design
Less use of natural resources
Less waste
Less pollution [50]
7
Eco-Friendly Design
Less impact on the environment
Using renewable energy
Developing biodiversity
Conservation of water and energy
Less pollution of water, air, and soil
Promote recycling [51]
8
Cradle to cradle
Economic consideration of building construction
Efficient use of water, air, and materials
Developing biodiversity [52]
Zero Energy Buildings
Less environment degradation
Less energy depletion
Energy efficiency
Using natural resources
Inclusion of landscape
Heat gain and heat loss reduction [54]
1
2
3
4
9
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The scope of sustainability was larger than the scope of the other approaches in
functional nature-based strategy when examining their main key philosophy and aspects,
and it was located in the middle of the timeline of the development of these approaches,
as shown in Figure 10. The other approaches are models of sustainability; thus, it is
possible to argue that sustainability is the fundamental functional nature-based strategy of
architectural design.
Figure 10. The timeline of the approaches of a functional nature-based strategy of architectural design.
3.2. Results of Survey
The evaluation of the functional nature-based strategy’s contribution to architectural
design was conducted via a questionnaire in Table 3. It was completed by 328 architects,
a response rate of 63%. All the participants worked in Erbil City consultant offices, and
the majority were male (81.10%), and 89.3% were architects who had a bachelor’s degree
in architectural design. The responses were coded as 0, 1, 2, and 3, and the aspects were
ffiand they
arranged as A1–A23. The mean of all aspects was 1.3348 with an SD of 0.37604,
were ranked from 1 (1.91) to 23 (0.44).
The highest means were obtained for questions A13, A14, A8, and A11 (1.91, 1.87, 1.86,
and 1.82). Meanwhile, the lowest means were obtained for questions A23, A22, A3, and A2
(0.44, 0.76, 0.80, and 0.82) as shown in Figure 11. At the same time, the highest deviations,
measured in standard deviations (SD), were found in questions A8 (SD 1.09), A13 (SD 1.04),
A18 (SD 1.03), and A7 with A10 (SD 0.99). The smallest SDs were obtained for questions
A23 (SD 0.67), A1 (SD 0.71), A2 (SD 0.74), and A22 (SD 0.83).
2.50
Mean
2.00
1.50
1.86
ff
1.91 1.87
1.78
1.60
1.50
1.35
1.77 1.82 1.78
1.73
1.65
1.28 1.22
1.13
1.00
0.82 0.80
0.97
0.91 0.87 0.89
0.76
0.44
0.50
0.00
A1
A2
A3
A4
A5
A6
A7
A8
A9
A10
A11
A12
A13
A14
A15
A16
A17
A18
A19
A20
A21
A22
A23
Series1 1.35
0.82
0.80
0.91
0.87
0.89
1.50
1.86
1.60
1.77
1.82
1.78
1.91
1.87
1.78
1.65
1.13
1.73
0.97
1.28
1.22
0.76
0.44
Figure 11. The ranked means of the 23 aspects of the functional nature-based strategy based on
survey responses.
Buildings 2023, 13, 2015
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Table 3. The statistics of nature’s contributions in a functional strategy of architecture design (n = 328) and 23 aspects of the approaches of this strategy.
The Aspects of Functional Strategy
Never
Seldom
Some of the Time
Most of the Time
Mean
%
Rank
SD
A1 Collecting all the information about the local climate
38
11.6%
143
43.6%
140
42.7%
7
2.1%
1.35
45.1
12
0.71
A2 Pollution (greenhouse gas emission, CO2 emissions) effects
on humans, environment
118
36.0%
160
48.8%
42
12.8%
8
2.4%
0.82
27.2
20
0.74
A3 Recycling waste material during construction
152
46.3%
107
32.6%
52
15.9%
17
5.2%
0.80
26.6
21
0.89
A4 Recycling wastewater during the construction process
137
41.8%
99
30.2%
75
22.9%
17
5.2%
0.91
30.5
17
0.92
A5 Recycling waste material during the demolition process
154
47.0%
80
24.4%
78
23.8%
16
4.9%
0.87
28.9
19
0.94
A6 Recycling wastewater during construction
139
42.4%
98
29.9%
78
23.8%
13
4.0%
0.89
29.8
18
0.90
A7 Calculating heat gain and heat loss
45
13.7%
146
44.5%
64
19.5%
73
22.3%
1.50
50.1
11
0.99
A8 Good orientation
54
16.5%
59
18.0%
94
28.7%
121
36.9%
1.86
62.0
3
1.09
A9 Shading device according to solar radiation
47
14.3%
108
32.9%
102
31.1%
71
21.6%
1.60
53.4
10
0.98
A10 Window design according to solar radiation
38
11.6%
94
28.7%
103
31.4%
93
28.4%
1.77
58.8
7
0.99
A11 Thermal insulation materials
20
6.1%
94
28.7%
139
42.4%
75
22.9%
1.82
60.7
4
0.85
A12 Calculations for thermal mass materials
32
9.8%
92
28.0%
121
36.9%
83
25.3%
1.78
59.2
5
0.94
A13 Natural ventilation
36
11.0%
84
25.6%
83
25.3%
125
38.1%
1.91
63.5
1
1.04
A14 Exterior envelops of the building
20
6.1%
101
30.8%
110
33.5%
97
29.6%
1.87
62.2
2
0.91
A15 Indoor air environment
31
9.5%
86
26.2%
136
41.5%
75
22.9%
1.78
59.2
6
0.91
A16 Using local materials
28
8.5%
133
40.5%
92
28.0%
75
22.9%
1.65
55.1
9
0.93
A17 Using renewal materials
85
25.9%
133
40.5%
91
27.7%
19
5.8%
1.13
37.8
15
0.87
A18 Using natural daylight
38
11.6%
114
34.8%
74
22.6%
102
31.1%
1.73
57.7
8
1.03
A19 Using voltaic panels
106
32.3%
152
46.3%
45
13.7%
25
7.6%
0.97
32.2
16
0.88
A20 Calculating cost reduction
72
22.0%
127
38.7%
95
29.0%
34
10.4%
1.28
42.6
13
0.92
A21 Life cycle assessment of design
94
28.7%
101
30.8%
100
30.5%
33
10.1%
1.22
40.7
14
0.97
A22 Using the passive system
145
44.2%
133
40.5%
34
10.4%
16
4.9%
0.76
25.3
22
0.83
A23 Balancing between the energy source and energy demand
211
64.3%
93
28.4%
20
6.1%
4
1.2%
0.44
14.7
23
0.67
Question wording: A. Please rate if you have regarded these aspects during the design of your project regarding nature contributions. If these aspects were regarded from all the
project’s designs, it was most of the time. From some of the project’s designs, it was some of the time. It was seldom, if the aspect rarely used in the design projects. Additionally, it was
never as if they have never been included in any project design. The values are: most of the time = 3, some of the time = 2, seldom = 1, and never = 0.
Buildings 2023, 13, 2015
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The functional nature-based strategy of architectural design was coded as (Fun.), the
nine selected approaches were coded as (App.No), and the aspects of the approaches were
identified as sub-numbers for the approaches, as shown in Figure 12.
Figure 12. The symbols of a functional nature-based strategy of architectural design, with their
approaches and aspect numbers.
Due to the small differences between the approaches of green architecture, eco-design,
eco-efficient design, andffeco-friendly design, one mean was considered for these four
ffi and there were similarities between these aspects in the questionnaire, as
approaches,
shown in Table 4. These included the calculation of the impact of the building on its
surroundings, including humans, the environment, the ecosystem, and the economy; their
mean was 0.858. The lowest mean score was for zero-energy buildings (0.723), and the
highest score was for the passive design (1.611); all the approaches of functional naturebased strategy had negative values on the t-test except the passive design (3.805). Therefore,
there were highly significant differences between these approaches of a functional naturebased strategy of architectural design,ffand their p-values were smaller than 0.05, as shown
in Table 5.
Table 4. The symbols of the questions for each aspect of the functional nature-based strategy of
architectural design are grouped into nine approaches and 23 aspects.
No.
Approach
Symbol of
Approach
Number of
Aspects
Symbol of Aspect
SD
1
2
3
Bioclimatic architecture
Green architecture
Eco-design
(Fun.App.1)
(Fun.App.2)
(Fun.App.3)
3
2
2
A1-A15-A22
A2-A3-A4-A5-A6
A2-A3-A4-A5-A6
4
Passive design
(Fun.App.4)
2
A7-A8-A9-A10-A11-A12A13-A14-A15-A18-A19-A22
5
Sustainability
(Fun.App.5)
5
A3-A4-A5-A6-A8-A9-A10A11-A12-A13-A14-A15-A16A17-A18-A19-A22
6
7
8
9
Eco-efficient design
Eco-friendly design
Cradle to cradle
ffi
Zero energy buildings
(Fun.App.6)
(Fun.App.7)
(Fun.App.8)
(Fun.App.9)
2
2
1
2
A2-A3-A4-A5-A6
A2-A3-A4-A5-A6
A20-A21
A19-A22-A23
0.71-0.91-0.83
0.74-0.89-0.92-0.94-0.90
0.74-0.89-0.92-0.94-0.90
0.99-1.09-0.98-0.99-0.850.94-1.04-0.91-0.91-1.030.88-0.83
0.89-0.92-0.94-0.90-1.090.98-0.99-0.85-0.94-1.040.91-0.91-0.93-0.87-1.030.88-0.83
0.74-0.89-0.92-0.94-0.90
0.74-0.89-0.92-0.94-0.90
0.92-0.97
0.88-0.83-0.67
−
ffi
−
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Table 5. The statistical calculations of means of a functional nature-based strategy of architectural design.
Mean
Name
Approach
Symbol
n
Mean
Value
Theoretical
Mean
Std.
Deviation
t-Test
p-Value
Sig.
Mean1
Bioclimatic
architecture
(Fun.App.1)
328
1.297
1.500
0.485
−7.591
0.000
HS
Mean2
Green architecture
Eco-design
Eco-efficient design
Eco-friendly design
(Fun.
App.2)
(Fun.App.3)
(Fun.App.6)
(Fun.App.7)
328
0.858
1.500
0.642
−18.102
0.000
HS
Mean3
Passive design
(Fun.App.4)
328
1.611
1.500
0.528
3.805
0.000
HS
Mean4
Sustainability
(Fun.App.5)
328
1.417
1.500
0.411
−3.660
0.000
HS
Mean5
Cradle to cradle
(Fun.App.8)
328
0.989
1.500
0.755
−12.256
0.000
HS
Mean6
Zero energy
buildings
(Fun.App.9)
328
0.723
1.500
0.659
−21.368
0.000
HS
4. Discussion
Starting from the selected aspects for the questionnaire design, the mean of these
aspects ranged from relatively low (0.44) to very high (1.91); the lowest mean was “balance
between the energy source and energy demand”, followed by “using passive systems” (0.76)
and “using voltaic panels” (0.97). The highest mean score was for “natural ventilation”,
which was interesting for the architects of Erbil City; the response rate selections were
11.0% never, 25.6% seldom, 25.3% some of the time, and 38.1% most of the time. It was
the same result as the responses of the study by Kujundzic et al. (2023), in which the
highest rate of relevance (68.75%) was obtained for natural ventilation [78]. To compare
the rate of contributions between the approaches of functional nature-based strategy, a
t-test was used. Only passive design had a positive value (+3.805), which means that
nature contributes to Erbil City architecture via the passive design approach Figure 13. The
difference between this study and the other related studies is that, in this study, the strategy
was identified as the outcome with a group of evaluated approaches, whereas in the other
studies, the researcher selected an approach before starting the research and without giving
a critical reason.
Buildings 2023, 13, 2015
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Figure 13. The result of the evaluated functional nature-based strategies that contributed to the
architectural design of Erbil City.
5. Conclusions
For the sake of having environmentally friendly buildings, this study researched
nature’s contributions to architectural design and predicted a model for structuring the
relationship between nature and architecture. The model is based on four categories
Buildings 2023, 13, 2015
ff
21 of 24
(function, form, concept, combination) of nature’s inspirations to the architectural design
principles, with seven options (function, form, concept, function_form, function_concept,
form_concept, and function_form_concept) using three levels (strategy, approach, and
aspect). Most of the approaches of nature-based strategies of architectural design have
their significant aspects and different models in nature. Among these approaches, the
scope of sustainability was higher than the scope of the other approaches in a functional
nature-based strategy of architectural design.
To test and validate the model, 23 aspects were evaluated, which were extracted from
nine approaches to architectural design in Erbil City. The model of relationship between
ff
nature and architecture in Erbil City’s architectural design is based
on the approach of
passive design, as shown in Figure 14. The mean score of most of the aspects of passive
design had the highest values, except for the use of voltaic panels, which had low values
related to the lack of use of passive systems in Erbil City. The client requirements also
have a negative impact on the low values of other aspects and approaches of functional
nature-based strategy. The classifications of the approaches of architectural design into
nature-based strategies will help designers use them in the four different architectural
design principles; the complexity and interdisciplinarity of nature and its approaches
will be less confusing. Additionally, placing these nature-based strategies of architectural
design with their approaches and aspects in a predicted model will provide a clear picture
for researchers to select proper approach for their research studies. Additionally, they
can predict more levels smaller than the aspects of the relationship between nature and
architecture
Figure 14. The model of the relationship between nature and architectural design in Erbil City
identified using a functional nature-based strategy.
There is a group of functional nature-based strategies to solve the problems of the
functional architectural principle. In addition, there is a group of formal nature-based
strategies to solve the problems of the formal architectural principle and a group of conceptual nature-based strategies to solve the problems of the conceptual architectural principle,
and the same applies to their combinations.
Author Contributions: Conceptualization, C.H.A.; methodology, H.Q.R.; software, C.H.A.; validation, H.Q.R.; formal analysis, C.H.A.; investigation, H.Q.R.; resources, C.H.A.; data curation,
C.H.A.; writing—original draft preparation, C.H.A. and H.Q.R.; writing—review and editing, C.H.A.
and H.Q.R.; visualization, C.H.A.; supervision, H.Q.R.; project administration, H.Q.R.; funding
acquisition, C.H.A. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Buildings 2023, 13, 2015
22 of 24
Funding: This research received no external funding.
Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement: Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement: All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in
this article.
Acknowledgments: We appreciate everyone who helped with this research.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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