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Urban challenges derived from climate prospects and densification call for a renewed engagement with the question of the liveability of the built environment. Within this context, the economic and technical concept of our cities is an increasingly dominant aspect, whereas the fragile but vital question of ambiance that seemingly signifies our sense of liveability is often suppressed. This requires us, as architects and urban designers, to refine our descriptions of ambiance as an integral part of the technical construction principles applied in the built environment, hereby considering it a continuous space, as suggested in theories of landscape urbanism. By recalling the etymological meaning of tectonics as a contextual joining of aesthetics and technology at the architectural scale, the paper states that this can be understood as a tectonic challenge which crosses the architectural and urban domains. As a result, the potential is opened up to develop further the theory of landscape urbanism by juxtaposing it with tectonic architectural theory. The paper investigates this potential through a combined conceptual and analytical case, studying whether it is possible to define and describe urban ambiances across scale, in relation to the concept of the built environment, when applying an “urban tectonic” perspective.

The city of Guimarães is like no other city in Portugal. Its past is so intimately intertwined with the History of Portugal that it is commonly and proudly referred to as the Cradle of the Nation.The Historic Centre of Guimarães has remained basically unchanged since the 15th century and was declared a World Heritage Site in 2001 by UNESCO, due to its Middle Age historical monuments. Guimarães was chosen by the Portuguese government to be the European Capital of Culture in 2012. PROCEEDINGSThe book of abstracts and a CD-ROM will be distributed with registration's materials at the Conference. SCHEDULEAn overview of the schedule is provided on the back cover of this program.Onsite registration: Onsite registration fees are: 600€ -Authors and participants 300€ -Students 250€ -Accompanying PersonsThe registration fees includes: Conference attendance, the Book of Abstracts and the CD-ROM Proceedings, coffee-breaks, banquet (except for students) and welcome reception.