Ten case studies for an “Atlas of the Architecture of the Sun”

The construction world is one of the sectors most responsible for emissions and consumption of natural resources. Precisely for this reason, in recent decades, more and more attention has been paid to the issue of sustainability, seeking innovative solutions to reduce environmental impact. These include the use of renewable sources in design, especially solar energy, integrating photovoltaics with architecture. The so-called “Solar architecture” is a challenge for engineers and architects who need to find efficient and technological solutions to create buildings that are almost energy-self-sufficient for an increasingly sustainable future, while not neglecting the aesthetic and architectural aspects of the building. Ten architectural examples are presented below, built in different parts of the world and with different uses, where the search for innovation to integrate technological systems to exploit solar radiation into the architecture is evident.