Final Assignment Report

Abstract

Environmental design in architecture encompasses factors relating to the natural environment, and can be measured through the various green building council principles and guidelines. However it also needs to be seen holistically as an expression of culture, it defines the human environment. In this way regionalism is important, successful environmental design tempers and is able to manipulate the climate, or human senses, or both, here the thermal experience is introduced and the ecology of heat is important. Today, with the evidence to climate change indisputable, successful tempering, of the climate; this ecology of heat for human comfort range cannot simply be through the air-conditioner, it can turn to GBC's as a first step, but additionally it must look to design for the climate, for regionalism, with specific techniques and strategies.
This will be looked at in detail by examining the works of Costa Rican Architect Bruno Stagno, both in his designs for buildings in the tropics, his formation of the Institute of Tropical Architecture (Instituto de Arquitectura Tropical) and his various writings relating to architecture and regionalism. Included in this is his approach to eco principles and how this has, and could benefit a Costa Rican GBC adoption of LEED.

Introduction

With today's contemporary architectural discourse, and indeed building industry, an outsider looking in can be excused for thinking environmental design is simply the application of the of a LEED rating. LEED (leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is current rating system of choice for Costa Rica. By providing credits through a range of categories such as water efficiency, energy consumption, materials used it demands a building satisify a certain amount of these prerequisite categories and earn points in order to be awarded differing levels