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Mediterranean vernacular architecture was developed not only with respect to environmental and climatic factors but also with respect to culture, traditional construction materials and morphology. Despite the far distance between Portugal and Egypt, it was possible to find similar vernacular strategies under the influence of the Mediterranean climate and both Roman and Arab cultures. The paper adopted an explanatory qualitative analysis and comparative synthesis methods for vernacular passive and climatic responsive strategies for two regions. Covering from site planning, building design till building materials used through considering topography, resources, historic and cultural aspects. The outcomes of this research allow for understanding how different passive solar strategies and the use of natural energy sources can contribute to achieve appropriate indoor comfort conditions for contemporary practice. The paper draws a set of recommendations for more in-depth quantitative survey and energy efficiency measurements in Mediterranean climate.

This booklet is a documentation for one week hands on workshop experience with Martin Rauch and his team. More information was added to this booklet for a complete overview on rammed earth construction from historical background to contemporary practice.

Today’s architecture swarms with concepts of energy and resource efficient buildings. In contrast, vernacular buildings are characterized by low-tech climatic responsive strategies and by their inhabitants’ resource and energy savings practices during construction and operation of their dwellings. That makes vernacular buildings highly relevant to resource efficiency in contemporary building research. The main focus of this study is to explore and analyse human behaviour to reach responsive and conscious resource efficient solutions in two different climatic context; in Egypt and Denmark. The aim is to suggest sustainable principles out of human conduct for contemporary resource efficient building practice. Though Danish and Egyptian climates and cultures are very different from each other some human approaches to sustainability appeared to be similar. That was evident through a comparative analytical study applying case-study methodology for two courtyard adobe dwellings; one in each country. The paper contributes to existing vernacular sustainable building studies by filling a knowledge gap on how human factors is a key parameter in acclimatization in buildings and how that can influence resource efficient building practice.

This booklet is a report for a case study visit during four day field trip, a group of nine PhD students and their supervisors – all part of the National Research School for Architecture and Planning in the Urban Landscape, APULA – set out to explore what may be considered the outback of Western Europe’s conurbations, the transnational region of Kiruna -Narvik.Both “remote” and “resourceful”, “threatened” and “thriving” (equally relative notions), this region seemed to offer possibilities to reflect upon many of the current tendencies influencing contemporary planning practice and research.