For a long time, sustainability in the architectural field was synonymous with technology. Efficiency was directly linked to innovative technological devices that adorned buildings with gadgets. Nowadays, however, sustainability increasingly encompasses different strategies that also involve acknowledging vernacular techniques and local materials as crucial for creating sustainable and carbon-neutral buildings.
Nevertheless, regardless of the technique or materials employed, the common denominator is the pursuit of reducing the carbon footprint of our architecture, which demands changes in how buildings are conceived, constructed, and operated. In other words, whether returning to vernacular methods or utilizing cutting-edge applications, these strategies aim to reach the same destination and, therefore, are equally valid despite being vastly different.
Artificial Intelligence (AI), in particular, has been revolutionizing our way of living for several decades, starting discreetly with automated controls for lighting, security, and other appliances and progressing to precise calculations of a building's energy efficiency. Furthermore, AI goes beyond these applications, being implemented to gain a deeper understanding of the energy efficiency of a structure and the dynamics of how society interacts with it, as well as how the structure interacts with the environment.
