BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN CLIMATE AND DESIGN - A BIOCLIMATIC DESIGN COURSE FOR ARCHITECTURAL STUDENTS IN ARGENTINA

Architects in Argentina practise in a wide variety of climates which stretch from the tropics to Antarctica. A specialized course for architectural students has been developed in the Faculty of Architecture, Design and Urban Planning at Buenos Aires University which incorporates bioclimatic concepts in the design teaching process. Three ideas have guided the development of this course: firstly, that students should discover for themselves the requirements for each climate; secondly, that techniques and concepts of climatic design are best understood when they are applied in a design project; finally, that the teaching of climatic design for architects must include the urban scale. The course allows the students to discover the differing character of designs in a regional context through a comparison between proposals for a variety of climates. This paper presents the theoretical basis of the course, the development during six years, the course structure, the climatic design techniques that are used, and the resulting projects which illustrate the relation between specific climate conditions and the design of building groups.