New Technologies for Adaptive Architecture

Since the 1980s, the bioclimatic architecture has had the historical merit of having raised public and experts’ awareness on the importance of designing buildings with the purpose of solving the problem of energy saving. Nowadays, in the light of the most recent energy strategies policies, in force on an international and European scale, codified in EC Directive 31/2010 concerning the implementation of the Nearly Zer-Energy Buildings (NZEB), (Deru et al. 2006), the need for a new approach to redevelopment that focuses on environmental, climate and energy objectives with innovative technological solutions emerges, aimed at optimizing the passive bioclimatic behaviour of a building. In the world of architecture, from the beginning of the 1990s to today, it has been possible to witness the appearance of structures able to adapt their form, shape, colour or character responsively (via actuators), reflecting the environmental conditions around them. These skills, which redescribe the architectural relationship with the space and the surrounding environment, fall within the scope of what is commonly called “Responsive Environment”. In this new scenario, we explore the possibilities offered by the latest technologies in support of traditional architecture. This article, in an attempt to interpret the culture of our time, aims to advance in the field of “Responsive Environment” hrough the creation of an “intelligent”, dynamic and adaptive architecture which redefines the common perception of the environment.