Architecture, Tourism and Sustainable Development for the Douro Region
António Feio1 and Manuel Correia Guedes1
1 Architectural Research Centre, Departament of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisboa, Portugal
To cite this text:
Feio, A. & Guedes, M. C. (2010), Architecture, Tourism and Sustainable Development for the Douro Region, Percursos & Ideias, Vol. 2, pp. 13-20.
Abstract
We claim that sustainable construction and architecture have a vital role in achieving the full potential for conservation and development of the tourism of the Douro Region, with recognized capacity for tourism growth. Buildings that make possible tourism occupation involve extra consumption of energy and natural resources, when compared to average levels of local communities. To make progress on this, we are gathering a representative set of tourism compounds that will be analyzed through criteria from evaluation methods of sustainable construction. We are gathering data related to the comfort experience of this buildings’ users, aiming to know the ratio between tourists’ demands of comfort and final consumption of resources. As a result of this research, we intend to refine environmental certification criteria in this specific geographical context and building category and, if necessary, define corrective intervention strategies and guidelines.
Keywords
Sustainable architecture, Tourism, Douro region, Green-building.