“Environmental movement” in architecture and related areas

Abstract

The concept of “environmental approach” in the theory of architecture, urban planning and design is usually used in the singular, but its content is often interpreted in different ways. Basing on the author’s concept of the “circle of environmental knowledge” and conceptual and terminological analysis of texts with an environmental focus, the author proves the necessity to speak about multiplicity of environmental approaches and considers the content and specific characteristics of seven enclaves of environmental knowledge and practice. The author describes the matter of each of them, connections with segments of environmental knowledge, and the design strategies under development. Due to the fact that the “design approach” has lost its singularity and ability to characterize the whole environment-oriented area of design, the usefulness of another umbrella concept for this is shown. The author demonstrates the necessity to choose the environmental “movement” as a concept that has a high degree of universality and tradition to be used in architecture to identify large fragments.

Keywords

• theory of architecture
• environmental approach
• environmental movement