Research creation in architecture to generate technical and sustainable solutions for vulnerable environments

Los arquitectos tienen un importante rol que cumplir como generadores de alternativas de desarrollo social, brindando opciones que faciliten la coexistencia de las comunidades y la naturaleza bajo las premisas del desarrollo sostenible. Esto plantea la necesidad de repensar los enfoques pedagógicos y las estrategias de enseñanza con la misión de preparar a los futuros arquitectos frente a la agudización de las problemáticas ambientales y sociales. Por otro lado, la paulatina inmersión, obligada o espontánea, de la arquitectura en el ámbito científico, crea la necesidad de documentar y sistematizar el proceso de investigación propio de la disciplina y, a su vez, tener en cuenta el proceso creativo de la obra arquitectónica. En este artículo se presenta el proceso de investigación-creación propuesto por el programa de Arquitectura de la Universidad de la Costa en Barranquilla (Colombia), con el objetivo de contribuir a la discusión y a la ampliación del estado del arte sobre el tema. Al final, se plantea un método de aprendizaje del proyecto arquitectónico con un enfoque investigativo, el cual pretende fortalecer la capacidad resolutiva en el estudiante, ante la complejidad de las necesidades humanas y ambientales.Architects have an important role to play as generators of social development alternatives, that allow communities and nature to coexist in a harmonious way, following the principles of sustainable development. This raises the need to rethink pedagogical approaches and teaching strategies to prepare future architects against the worsening of environmental and social problems. On the other hand, the gradual immersion, forced or spontaneous, of architecture in the scientific field, creates the need to document and systematize the research process appropriate to the discipline and, at the same time, consider the creative process of architectural work. This article presents the research-creation process proposed by the Universidad de la Costa in Barranquilla (Colombia), with the aim of contributing to the discussion and the broadening of the state of the art on the subject. In the end, a method of learning the architectural project with a research approach is proposed, which aims to strengthen the student's ability to solve the problem, given the complexity of human and environmental needs

EL PROCESO DE INVESTIGACIÓN CREACIÓN EN ARQUITECTURA PARA LA GENERACIÓN DE SOLUCIONES TÉCNICAS Y SOSTENIBLES EN ENTORNOS VULNERABLES

Architects have an important role to play as generators of social development alternatives, that allow communities and nature to coexist in a harmonious way, following the principles of sustainable development. This raises the need to rethink pedagogical approaches and teaching strategies to prepare future architects against the worsening of environmental and social problems. On the other hand, the gradual immersion, forced or spontaneous, of architecture in the scientific field, creates the need to document and systematize the research process appropriate to the discipline and, at the same time, consider the creative process of architectural work. This article presents the research-creation process proposed by the Universidad de la Costa in Barranquilla (Colombia), with the aim of contributing to the discussion and the broadening of the state of the art on the subject. In the end, a method of learning the architectural project with a research approach is proposed, which aims to strengthen the student's ability to solve the problem, given the complexity of human and environmental needs. Keywords: Investigation. Vulnerable surroundings. Sustainability. Architecture.Los arquitectos tienen un importante rol que cumplir como generadores de alternativas de desarrollo social, brindando opciones que faciliten la coexistencia de las comunidades y la naturaleza bajo las premisas del desarrollo sostenible. Esto plantea la necesidad de repensar los enfoques pedagógicos y las estrategias de enseñanza con la misión de preparar a los futuros arquitectos frente a la agudización de las problemáticas ambientales y sociales. Por otro lado, la paulatina inmersión, obligada o espontánea, de la arquitectura en el ámbito científico, crea la necesidad de documentar y sistematizar el proceso de investigación propio de la disciplina y, a su vez, tener en cuenta el proceso creativo de la obra arquitectónica. En este artículo se presenta el proceso de investigación-creación propuesto por el programa de Arquitectura de la Universidad de la Costa en Barranquilla (Colombia), con el objetivo de contribuir a la discusión y a la ampliación del estado del arte sobre el tema. Al final, se plantea un método de aprendizaje del proyecto arquitectónico con un enfoque investigativo, el cual pretende fortalecer la capacidad resolutiva en el estudiante, ante la complejidad de las necesidades humanas y ambientales. Palabras Clave: Investigación. Entornos Vulnerables. Sostenibilidad. Arquitectura

Dual Inoculation with Rhizophagus irregularis and Bacillus megaterium Improves Maize Tolerance to Combined Drought and High Temperature Stress by Enhancing Root Hydraulics, Photosynthesis and Hormonal Responses

Climate change is leading to combined drought and high temperature stress in many areas, drastically reducing crop production, especially for high-water-consuming crops such as maize. This study aimed to determine how the co-inoculation of an arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungus (Rhizophagus irregularis) and the PGPR Bacillus megaterium (Bm) alters the radial water movement and physiology in maize plants in order to cope with combined drought and high temperature stress. Thus, maize plants were kept uninoculated or inoculated with R. irregularis (AM), with B. megaterium (Bm) or with both microorganisms (AM + Bm) and subjected or not to combined drought and high temperature stress (D + T). We measured plant physiological responses, root hydraulic parameters, aquaporin gene expression and protein abundances and sap hormonal content. The results showed that dual AM + Bm inoculation was more effective against combined D + T stress than single inoculation. This was related to a synergistic enhancement of efficiency of the phytosystem II, stomatal conductance and photosynthetic activity. Moreover, dually inoculated plants maintained higher root hydraulic conductivity, which was related to regulation of the aquaporins ZmPIP1;3, ZmTIP1.1, ZmPIP2;2 and GintAQPF1 and levels of plant sap hormones. This study demonstrates the usefulness of combining beneficial soil microorganisms to improve crop productivity under the current climate-change scenario.</jats:p

Dual inoculation with Rhizophagus irregularis and Bacillus megaterium improves maize tolerance to combined drought and high temperature stress by enhancing root hydraulics, photosynthesis and hormonal responses

Climate change is leading to combined drought and high temperature stress in many areas, drastically reducing crop production, especially for high-water-consuming crops such as maize. This study aimed to determine how the co-inoculation of an arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungus (Rhizophagus irregularis) and the PGPR Bacillus megaterium (Bm) alters the radial water movement and physiology in maize plants in order to cope with combined drought and high temperature stress. Thus, maize plants were kept uninoculated or inoculated with R. irregularis (AM), with B. megaterium (Bm) or with both microorganisms (AM + Bm) and subjected or not to combined drought and high temperature stress (D + T). We measured plant physiological responses, root hydraulic parameters, aquaporin gene expression and protein abundances and sap hormonal content. The results showed that dual AM + Bm inoculation was more effective against combined D + T stress than single inoculation. This was related to a synergistic enhancement of efficiency of the phytosystem II, stomatal conductance and photosynthetic activity. Moreover, dually inoculated plants maintained higher root hydraulic conductivity, which was related to regulation of the aquaporins ZmPIP1;3, ZmTIP1.1, ZmPIP2;2 and GintAQPF1 and levels of plant sap hormones. This study demonstrates the usefulness of combining beneficial soil microorganisms to improve crop productivity under the current climate-change scenario.This work is a part of the I+D+i Project PID2020-112816RB-I00, financed by Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and FEDER “A way to make Europe”