The creation of innovative tools, objects and artifacts that introduce abstract ideas in the real world is a necessary step for the evolution process and characterize the creative capacity of civilization. Sculpture is based on the available technology for its creation process and is strongly related to the level of technological sophistication of each era. This paper analyzes the evolution of basic sculpture techniques (carving, lost-wax casting and 3D scanning/printing), and their importance as a culture footprint. It also presents and evaluates the added creative capacities of each technological step and the different methods of 3D scanning/printing concerning sculpture. It is also an attempt to define the term “material poetics”, which is connected to sculpture artifacts. We conclude that 3D scanning/printing is an important sign of civilization, although artifacts lose a part of material poetics with additive manufacturing. Subsequently, there are various causes of the destruction of sculptures, leaving a hole in the history of art. Finally, this paper showcases the importance of 3D scanning/printing in salvaging cultural heritage, as it has radically altered the way we “backup” objects.

A big part of traditional architecture both in rural and urban areas in the Greek territory has been built with raw earth. The aim of this paper is to present earthen buildings’ constructions in Greece and show their important contribution to our heritage. The use of earth as a basic constructing material has given different earthen building cultures and techniques. Earthen construction encloses many varied uses and applications, as walls or as plasters. In different periods of time and historical contexts, from the indigenous inhabitants to the neighborhoods of the refugees of Asia Minor Catastrophe, the earth constructions had a primary role. The existence of earthen architecture was investigated in urban and rural sites in Greece. Building information, documentation, and records of buildings’ design, construction techniques, elements, and systems are presented. Today, there is still a rich architectural heritage throughout the country, which has lasted through the years and withstood seismic activities and poor conservation.

Digital tools and services relying on digital technology are becoming more pervasive, and are widespread in many different stages of the design process of structures. In this study, design optimisation from the perspective of architectural and structural engineering design is explored. Although, until recently, optimisation was recognised as a ‘tough’ mathematical tool, its evolution in terms of usability and efficiency have made it attractive for improving architectural design from the earliest stages of the design approach. Specialised digital tools that are able to support all structural engineering optimising requirements are somewhat difficult to develop; instead, customised structural design optimisation services have recently appeared. This work presents different strategies for parametrising distinctive variables involved in the definition of each architectural synthesis, which are defined as the main goal in architectural design optimisation and the structural design optimisation. A review of optimisation processes and optimisation tools in the field of architecture, engineering and construction is then provided. Recent paradigms from the built environment where parametric optimisation procedures have been applied in real-world design practice are also presented.

There is a widespread perception that every year wildfires are intensifying on a global scale, something that is often used as an indicator of the adverse impacts of global warming. However, from the analysis of wildfires that have occurred in the US, Canada, and Mediterranean countries, a trend that justifies this perception could not be identified. Arguably, instead of blaming climate change, research on the mitigation of wildfires should be re-directed to forest management policy and practices. Forests are admirable and complex natural ecosystems, and fires, albeit devastating, can be attributed to both human activity and to natural processes that contribute to their rebirth, with the latter constituting an intrinsic and perpetual process of the forest ecosystem. Other than their important ecological value, forests are, in the 21st century, also a capital resource, for many people’s livelihoods depend on them. In this study, we proposed a method for taking mitigation measures against wildfires based on the partitioning of forests, considering both the protection of the ecosystem and the inhabitants and aiming to utilize their co-dependent nature for the general protection and preservation of forests. As a case study, we analyzed the current devastating fire in Euboea (occurred in August 2021), initially in terms of the spatio-temporal progression of the actual wildfire that lasted several days and then by examining how an implementation of the proposed method in the study area could contribute to both the recovery of the ecosystem and the enhancement of the quality of life of the inhabitants as well as their long-term protection.

The objective of this research is to support sustainable architecture where renewable materials (such as plant-based materials and soil) are used for construction. The use of renewable materials and earthen building techniques in structural design represent important construction practices to mitigate the associated carbon footprint. In this study we propose structural systems that will be constructed using renewable materials such as bamboo, that probably is the most well-known renewable material and has long been valued as an alternative to wood. The main goal of the study is to design tree-shaped structural systems using the advanced characteristics of Guadua angustifolia, a clumping variety of bamboo chiefly native to South America, and to test its effectiveness by means of a structural parametric design optimization approach. For this purpose, an elliptical and a quadrangular structural system is parametrized and optimized to effectively support the design loads imposed by the roof that is supported by the proposed structural systems.