Is there a relationship between the energy efficiency of a building and its architectural form language? To which strategies do energy efficient buildings owe their energy efficiency? Which of these strategies are architecturally expressed and which remain unseen in architectural terms? Is there a relationship between the form of a building structure and its energy efficiency? If so, how pronounced is this relationship? Are issues related to building energy performance exerting a greater influence in the form finding process in contemporary architecture? Why are there so few examples of built buildings, where the form of the building structure has been derived from such considerations? Taking the terms form language and form, as our starting point, I look at how aspects related to sustainability, particularly from a building energy performance point of view, have influenced some contemporary architecture.
www.worldarchitecture.org/cities-uia-2005/?rec=139