Vernacular architecture is a complex concept that has different meanings depending on where we are, and it is present in various architectural typologies. It is connected to its roots and place of origin, elements that define many of its characteristics based on specific aspects such as culture, climate, topography, vegetation, and the availability of materials and resources in each region. Its constructions are also often linked to traditional building techniques from each place. These techniques were developed by populations in a broader historical context based on available resources.
In this second feature, to learn more about the science panel on design for Climate Adaptation we met with Billie Faircloth, Partner and Research Director at KieranTimberlake, Adjunct Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, and Maibritt Pedersen Zari, Associate Professor at the School of Future Environments, Auckland University of Technology.
Response to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Back Bay Coastal Storm Risk Management Study / Curtis + Rogers Design Studio. Image Courtesy of Miami Downtown Development Authority
This Earth Day, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris highlighted the many benefits of nature-based solutions and recognized the important role of landscape architects in this work. At the University of Miami, she also announced $562 million in funding for coastal resilience projects, supporting 149 projects in 30 states, through the Climate-Ready Coasts Initiative of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Vice President Harris’ remarks build on the Biden-Harris administration’s support for planning and designing with ecological systems in an equitable way.
The Pritzker Architecture Prize presents The Role of Practice, the 2023 Laureate Lecture and Panel Discussion, today, Tuesday, May 23rd at 3:40 PM EEST, in partnership with the National Technical University of Athens, and with the participation of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, University of Patras and the Technical University of Crete.
The Pritzker Architecture Prize 2023 Laureate David Chipperfield will deliver the lecture, reflecting on architectural practice's role, responsibilities, and opportunities. Moreover, the 2023 winner will explore "how market forces have dominated architecture and become increasingly detached from its place, just as the challenges of the climate crisis, loss of biodiversity, and social inequality have heightened the urgency for a more proactive position". Alejandro Aravena, Jury Chair, and 2016 Laureate will introduce the lecture, which will be followed by a conversation between David Chipperfield, Francis Kéré, 2022 Laureate, and Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal, 2021 Laureates, as they each "reveal the successes and failures of their respective journeys which effected their architectural philosophies and works, and led them to the shared stage of the present".
Ayrson Heráclito, "O Sacudimento da Casa da Torre e o Sacudimento da Maison des Esclaves em Gorée", 2015, video installation. courtesy of the artist
Questioning the canonical history of architecture and shedding light on long-invisible spatial practices, Gabriela de Matos and Paulo Tavares propose the exhibition “Terra” [Earth], at the Brazilian pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2023. "It's our way of shaking things up," say the curators, who turn their attention to ancestral ways of dealing with the land, aiming for more fair and complete possibilities for the present and future.
Addressing "earth" in all its meanings, the curators overlay issues related to soil and territory with the planetary problems. They propose an approach to reparations and decoloniality - emerging in Brazil - with broad topics such as decarbonization and the environment, decisive in the contemporary global debate. The Brazilian Pavilion titled Terra [Earth], won the Golden Lion for Best National Participation at the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale, on Saturday 20th of May, selected by a jury comprising Italian architect and curator Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli as president, Nora Akawi, Thelma Golden, Tau Tavengwa, and Izabela Wieczorek.
https://www.archdaily.com/1001311/earth-as-ancestral-and-future-technology-an-interview-with-gabriela-de-matos-and-paulo-tavares-curators-of-the-brazil-pavilion-and-winners-of-the-golden-lion-at-the-2023-venice-biennaleRomullo Baratto e Victor Delaqua
Harnessing the power of moldless manufacturing through large-scale robotic 3D printing, research at ETH Zürich in collaboration with FenX AG delves into the use of cement-free mineral foam made from recycled waste. The objective is to build wall systems that are monolithic, lightweight, and immediately insulated, minimizing material use, labor requirements, and associated costs.
Currently at 103 million, the number of people forcibly displaced from their homes is continuously growing. Many seek shelter in settlements that are meant to be temporary, but where displaced people end up living years, even decades.
The Norman Foster Foundation and Holcim, global leader in sustainable building solutions, came together to form a response to this problem based on two firm beliefs: everyone has the right to a home, and everyone should have access to sustainable building.
