SENSE AND RESPONSE

The research paper "SENSE AND RESPONSE: A BIOCLIMATIC DIALOGUE OF PLACE" by Victor Olgyay explores the evolution of human interaction with the environment, from preindustrial symbiotic relationships to the ecological degradation caused by industrialization. The author advocates for a "performance based" regionalism in architecture that moves beyond reducing negative impacts toward a restorative approach, where buildings function as "ecological utilities" that actively provide ecosystem services and repair degraded landscapes.

• Preindustrial societies maintained sustainable relationships with their environments through a constructive understanding of ecological dependence, which is contrasted with the modern era where technical prowess and energy use have loosened this connection.
• Traditional land management systems, such as the Balinese rice terraces and the Hawaiian ahupua'a, demonstrate how engineered landscapes can optimize ecosystem services through social cooperation and a recognition of hydrological and climatic resources.
• Modern climate change is driving a shift toward a performance-based regionalism in architecture, where design is informed by local biology, hydrology, and climate to minimize negative impacts and reduce building loads.
• The author identifies a trend of "externalization of consequence," where people internalize economic benefits but move away from environments degraded by climate change, as seen with the pine beetle infestation in the Colorado Rocky Mountains.
• There is a high correlation between rising temperatures and the spread of pine beetle infestations across North America, as the lack of extreme cold spells (below 20 degrees below zero) prevents the natural collapse of beetle outbreaks.
• The paper proposes a paradigm shift from "green building" (which focuses on reducing negative impacts) to restorative architecture, where buildings act as "ecological power plants" that cleanse water, rebuild soils, and sequester carbon dioxide.
• Degraded environments, such as toxic dumps and contaminated waterways, should be viewed as assets for rejuvenation, noting that mining solid waste dumps in the United States for metals is often more profitable than mining virgin ore.

APA

Olgyay, V. (n.d.). SENSE AND RESPONSE. RMI. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_ASES-2009-Sense-and-response-5-12-09-1.pdf

Chicago

Olgyay, Victor. SENSE AND RESPONSE. RMI, n.d. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_ASES-2009-Sense-and-response-5-12-09-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Olgyay |first1=Victor |title=SENSE AND RESPONSE |publisher=RMI |url=https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_ASES-2009-Sense-and-response-5-12-09-1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{olgyayndsense, author = {Olgyay, Victor}, title = {{SENSE AND RESPONSE}}, institution = {RMI}, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_ASES-2009-Sense-and-response-5-12-09-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }