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This article proposes a new framework for examining the empirical research of early modern architects. It explores the rise of nature study in sixteenth-century architectural theory and practice through the works of physician and architecture expert Walther Hermann Ryff (c. 1500–1548). The article argues that Ryff’s 1548 Vitruvius Teutsch, the first German translation of Vitruvius’s De architectura, gave architects pathbreaking advice about performing design research in nature. Ryff’s book supported the botanical investigations of architects by aping empirically derived botanical imagery from the De historia stirpium of Leonhart Fuchs (1501–1566) and by comparing architectural nature study to the period craze for examining ancient ruins firsthand. In proposing a new mode of architectural empiricism, Vitruvius Teutsch reconciled tensions between abstract theory and hands-on practice in the formation of architectural knowledge.

Nature is moving more and more to the centre of educational reflections thanks to the upheavals of the nineteenth century. While one reflect on the modes of human progress and the fact that fear and optimism complement each other, nature is perceived as the ultimate source of truth and therefore the ideal means to educate new generations. The idea of a necessary return to nature is increasing. The turning point of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries is characterised by the development of naturist movements in Europe. Their leaders quickly formalised complete educational projects and tried to establish and enforce them. This article is based on the analysis of a corpus of naturist and educational publications from the period concerned. Its challenge is to highlight the diversity and originality of naturist educational programmes, in order to better appreciate their influence within the education community. Focusing on the case of France, this study does not neglect an international perspective because of the importance of cultural circulation. It will be demonstrated that naturist ideas have had a major influence on the new education movement and in outdoor schools. Naturist considerations and practices are also diffused in the public schools of France, under the Popular Front in particular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The article reports on the ecological and forestry activism of Kastytis Klimakas, a livestock technician, electrician, naturalist and activist, in Spain. Klimakas made forest by himself through sowing and planting, in uncultivated lands near his house in Ontigola in Toledo. He spends part of his vacations touring the geography, where he collects seeds or fruits.