The Natural Architecture of Inhabiting

Abstract

Architecture as a refuge, as the construction of a habitat capable of responding to the needs of those who inhabit it, allows us to consider the possibility of learning from the intuitive way in which certain animals build their refuges as their own architectures. Beings that take shelter in nature following diverse guidelines, constructing habitable spaces that, in some cases, use their surroundings as their best ally. In other cases the animals rely on what is already there and, sometimes, dig the earth to find shelter, while others are able to take remains from the environment or produce artificial materials to build their shelter. We can observe that the strategies used by the animal world for the configuration of their shelters are similar to those of man when it comes to building and imagining new habitable spaces.