Even if the potential of environmental design to cause morphogenesis has been recognised widely, it remains so far unexplored because its main principles – related to building’s physics – are open to many architectural translations. Up to now the environmental input in architecture is limited in most of the cases to passive optimised strategies applied in their technical dimension rather than in their design implications. Therefore, this research was set to investigate the potential of environmental design, and more specifically the context of solar control and daylight relation, from a morphogenetic point of view. More specifically, through the exploration of parameters that affect this relation, the study produced performance thresholds in geometrical terms that can be applied as the environmental input for form generation in a digital design platform. The outcome of the research is the critical point of morphogenetic strategies and environmental input, contextualised in a reference case of office self-shaded forms in London climate (latitude= 51.5, longitude=-0.1). In practice, this becomes a useful guide of the design process for environmental driven forms’ generation.

Over the last few years, population growth in London has created an imperative need for increasing housing supply. At the same time household structure is radically changing with one-person dwellings accounting for a large proportion of the demand. Terraced housing has provided satisfactory living conditions for many years and still defines much of the city’s housing stock. However, current social trends and the need for energy efficiency require a critical review of the dwelling type. This project aims to transfer the principles of the terrace type to a proposal for a new housing scheme. Meeting the housing needs of the changing population through environmentally responsive design is the main objective.

Daylight can be very informative in the generation of architectural form and has been a celebrated tool in highlighting cultural, contextual and experiential regard in architectural design. Exploring this concept, the dissertation assesses and re-interprets spatial, sensorial and form-giving characteristics using religious buildings as a forum.

The project explores the effects created through daylight in three iconic religious buildings; Notre Dame du Haut, The Church of Light and the Bagsvaerd Kirke; the daylighting effects created in these buildings are identified, evaluated and analyzed. Then an attempt is made to recreate and integrate them in built programme though the development of new tools.

This research investigates the potential of earth masonry as low energy design along with its applicability in sustainable contemporary design. Earth masonry is known for its insulation and sustainability properties. There is a lot of technology available for low energy design such as louvers, complex solar chimneys, various insulation layers, air-tight buildings and innumerable permutations of highly insulated curtain walls.

The question this dissertation tries to answers is how much of this technology is a solution for low energy design. Earth materials generally have very good sustainability characteristics across a broad range of criteria, but different forms of earth construction have different levels of environmental impact depending on their constructional context.

Vernacular materials produced by traditional means can have a remarkably shallow environmental footprint, by utilising very local resources in a low-tech production process. Mass-produced materials, made in industrial construction processes, inevitably have a deeper environmental footprint and this must be examined in some detail if they are to be promoted as being sustainable. The research focuses on thermal performance of the earth masonry and focuses majorly on operational energy rather than embodied energy. The U-value for rammed earth walls is high hence it might be expected to conduct or lose heat from a building. However the large mass of these walls and their thermal time lag in heat transfer from outside to inside may result in the walls performing satisfactorily in a building which is only occupied during working hours like offices.