INVISIBLE ARCHITECTURE – SUSTAINABLE UNDERGROUND ARCHITECTURE

References: 16th International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference SGEM 2016, SGEM Vienna GREEN Extended Scientific Sessions, www.sgemviennagreen.org, SGEM2016 Conference Proceedings, ISBN 978-619-7105-79-7 / ISSN 1314-2704, 2 - 5 November, 2016, Book 6 Vol. 3, 555-560pp, DOI: 10.5593/SGEM2016/HB63/S10.071

ABSTRACT
Finding environmentally friendly spaces in the built surroundings is becoming more and more difficult. The growth of population and thus the expansion of the constructed environment is on an ascending path and the overpopulated metropolises of the world have to deal with slum like suburbs, squatted abandoned buildings and overcrowded city cores. Underground, buried or earth-sheltered examples of constructions prove, from the early history of architecture and regardless of the reasons that justified their design or solution, that there was a preoccupation in veiling the artificial into the nature. Camouflaging the buildings by covering them with a layer of soil and vegetation or even sinking them into the ground enhances the so much needed green space. The theoretical research identified typologies of underground architecture that qualify as sustainable in a world where building became a race for breaking records in construction. The study was conducted in order to reveal a suitable alternative to a congested urbanized world.

Keywords: underground architecture, thermal efficiency, energy consumption, environmentally friendly design