The study of traditional built environments is instrumental in understanding the essence behind the formation of vernacular architecture. Insight gained from this study helps in learning important lessons about the mutual interaction between culture and architecture, and the effect that each has on the other. This approach was greatly used in teaching the history of architecture and, in some in...

Geological and climatic processes potentially alter speciation rates by generating and modifying barriers to dispersal. In Southeast Asia, two processes have substantially altered the distribution of land. Volcanic uplift produced many new islands during the Miocene-Pliocene and repeated sea level fluctuations during the Pleistocene resulted in intermittent land connections among islands. Each ...

My paper discusses an East Asian notion of climate and its significance for sustainability. A particular reference is the environmental philosophy of Tetsuro Watsuji (1889–1960), a Japanese philosopher who reflected upon the meaning of climate, or “fudo” in the Sino-Japanese linguistic tradition. Watsuji sees fudo not merely as a collection of natural features—climatic, scenic, and topographica...

Crater degradation on Mars is a key to understand erosion through time. Strongly eroded craters in the highlands are interpreted to be the result of enhanced erosion rate during the Noachian epoch [1]. While fluvial valleys climatic meaning and duration are still difficult to define (strongly warmer climate or episodic activity under slightly warmer climate), the enhanced Noachian craters degra...

Given more than seven thousand years of urbanization and highly diverse topographic andgeographical conditions, Iran is one of the treasures through the world's architectural history. Climatic diversity,on the one hand, and long history of living, on the other hand, has led to noteworthy and valuable achievement inarchitecture and urbanization within this country. However, these elements are le...

Solar passive techniques are being used in vernacular buildings throughout the world. Researchers have done extensive study on thermal performance of vernacular buildings in the different parts of the world. Vernacular architecture of North-Eastern India represents the principle of climate-responsive architecture, which still lacks experimental validation and quantitative analysis. Thermal comf...