Bio-architecture is a branch of architectural disciplines that focuses on respect for ecosystems and the ability to realize building solutions that are environmentally friendly. Its fundamental principles include, for example, respect for the context within which the building will be constructed, the design of buildings that can be easily adapted, the limitation of polluting gas emissions and the use of sustainable yet high-performance materials. Buildings designed according to the methods of bio-architecture, therefore, must integrate perfectly within the reality that surrounds them and must be an example of how innovation can help us live in harmony with nature and not worsen climate change.

However, bio-architecture is not exactly a new invention. Our ancestors, in fact, had already designed solutions capable of combining comfort, functionality and respect for the surrounding territory: these buildings today constitute, among other things, an important testimony of how man has settled in the territory. In Italy you can visit some of these structures that constitute an embryonic form of bio-architecture.

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The Trullo is a typical piece of architecture in the Apulian region and is an excellent example of a bioclimatic building. In fact, it is built from materials readily available in nature but capable of thermally insulating the interior of the structure. The trullo was built by the same farmer who would inhabit it and this means that there is no waste; furthermore, the need to build a residential building in a country context determined the need to use zero kilometer and low cost materials. In this case, the trullo was built from the stone the farmer collected by tilling the land on which his dwelling was to be built.

Two other elements are worthy of note: firstly, the fact that the interior of the trullo was thermally insulated by building very thick walls and reducing the openings to the minimum necessary to ensure the entry of light and the exchange of air; secondly, the trullo is a building which, by its very construction technique, is reusable. When a trullo was permeable to damp, the farmer could pull it down and reuse the same materials recovered from demolition to build his new dwelling.
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Another example of architecture perfectly grafted into the surrounding territory is the Palmento, a typical structure in Pietragalla in the province of Potenza. Like trulli, palmenti are buildings made of stone: the locality of Pietragalla owes its name to the fact that there is availability of stones whose colour tends to yellow. The palmenti were dug into the sandstone rock that characterizes the area and were used for operations related to wine production. Because of their ability to keep the temperature constant and never too hot or too cold, these structures ensured that farmers could work without being affected by outside temperatures; moreover, ventilation was ensured by only two openings, the door and a window, thus avoiding a weakening of the thermal insulation system.
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A more contemporary example is the work of architect Frank Lloyd Wright, considered one of the founding fathers of bio-architecture. Wright's work tends towards harmony between the built element and the surrounding landscape and enhances this union through the choice of predominantly natural building materials. Kaufmann House - also known as Falling Water, because it is built on a waterfall - has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage list. Its splendid architecture fits effectively into the context within which it was conceived and the choice of materials was made favoring the use of stone for the external cladding and wood for the interior finishes.

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Figure 8 - The vertical forest in Milan

In Italy, one of the most recent and iconic experiments in bio-architecture can be found in the so-called Vertical Forest in Milan. Designed by studio Boeri, the building aims to emphasise biodiversity and become ‘a house for trees that also houses humans and birds’ . The vegetation in the Bosco Verticale is watered, for the most part, with water  coming from a filtration system of grey condominium water. Residential solutions of this kind could prove invaluable in the near future, when even larger segments of the population will migrate to the cities and more pollution will be at risk.

To learn more about vertical forests and the positive impact they can have on air quality in urban settings, a short video produced by the BBC is available in the additional materials section.