CAMAGÜEY.-The news fills the people of Camagüey with pride. The Academy of Sciences has just awarded its 2021 award in the technical sciences section to work related to the influence of architectural and urban design on the internal thermal environment and energy consumption in the climatic conditions of Cuba, with emphasis on buildings non-residential, such as hotels, administrative and service facilities, agencies and schools, among others.

Along with other prominent academics in the country, recognized with this award is the architect and Doctor of Science Guillermo de la Paz Pérez, a member of the faculty of the University of Camagüey Ignacio Agramonte Loynaz, who is passionate about the economic and social impact that bioclimatic has.

He does not fail to recognize that bioclimatic architecture takes advantage of what the environment provides in a natural way, from which conditioning strategies of solar control, lighting, ventilation are inferred, which even integrates renewable energy sources.

"It is an architecture that optimizes its energy relations with its surroundings but uses the architectural design itself to achieve it. It is an architecture that responds to the local climatic conditions of the site where it is located. It is about designs that make a reading of vernacular architecture, which was adapted to the climate through trial and error, to later make a reinterpretation in the light of new knowledge", explains De la Paz.

He is a scholar who meditates well when answering. Perhaps another interviewee formulates the answer to the meaning of the prize in a direct way, however, he refers to the antecedents of his approach to science.

"When we started in the world of research, we did it to continue our preparation and meet the demands of our teaching and research work as university professors.

"Later, when the years go by, we do it for the pleasure of contributing something useful and new, which is very gratifying and science makes it possible. But, if that science is part of architecture, the first and most useful of the arts, it is simply enjoyed, beyond the obstacles along the way.

"For these reasons, we do not work with our sights set on the prizes. They arrive and are appreciated since it is not every day that a National Prize from the Cuban Academy of Sciences is obtained," he reasoned.

The first Academy Award was received in 2011, with a team of professors from the University of Camagüey whose result was titled "Contribution to the conservation of the urban and architectural heritage of the Historic Center of Camagüey" and the second in 2021, with a group of professors de la Cujae, with the result “Sustainable built environment. Influence of architectural and urban solutions on the indoor thermal environment and energy consumption.”

He stressed that in both cases it is not individual work, it is teamwork, where not only each member researcher contributes, but also the students who work with us, both in Student Scientific Groups, Student Assistants, and those who guide their thesis.

His contributions to the first prize were the results of his master's thesis, defended in 2008, and his contributions to the second, those of the Doctorate in Technical Sciences thesis defended in 2019.

He explained that in the second prize he proposed recommendations for the design of solar protection for the opening, according to the specific orientation (north, northeast, east, etc.) and the urban context (the buildings on the other side of the street or urban space), which is reflected in a computer application for architectural design (CtrolSOLARQ).

He pointed out that this tool is of general validity for the geographical areas of Cuba (East, Center, and West), applicable to any province and to the floor level where it is being designed.

These results allowed modifying the current energy efficiency standard in buildings, for use in project companies, which will also be the users of the aforementioned software. All to reduce the energy demand of the built environment in our country.

"The solution is the solar control (protection) of the opening (window or fenestration), which we consider as a complement to the protection provided by the context, which is a new contribution that the standard does not address. These criteria are unknown and underestimated because expensive buildings continue to be made with indiscriminate use of glass windows without solar protection that does not respond to our local conditions (climatic, economic, and cultural identity. Unfortunately, these buildings will cost us a lot more at the exploitation stage of their life cycle."

—What are you currently working on in the field of research?

—Now, together with my colleagues from the 2021 Academy Award, we are in an applied research and development project, coordinated by Cujae, approved by CITMA within the Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation program, for execution in the 2022-2024 period, which is entitled Adaptation of the urban habitat to climate change in Cuba.

"Right now we are developing the theoretical framework, of which I was assigned the subject of urban variables that influence adaptation to rising temperatures. There is a known problem, the effect of the Urban Heat Island. It is about changing the Local weather patterns caused by urbanization, that is, the microclimate that is created in cities, when vegetation, rivers, and lakes are replaced by buildings, asphalt, and concrete.

"All this is closely related to the design recommendations resulting from my thesis, to reduce energy demand because as the temperature in the city increases due to the heat island effect, energy consumption for air conditioning will increase, and greenhouse gas emissions caused by its production.

"Then, reducing energy demand, its environmental and economic impact will favor people's comfort and contribute to mitigating and adapting our cities to climate change. Of course, all this responds to the sustainable development goals (SDGs) established by the United Nations for the year 2030".

Translated by Linet Acuña Quilez