Habitat: Ecology Thinking in Architecture (original) (raw)
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Ecological Reasoning and Architectural Imagination
2004
By 'ecology' here I refer not just to the science of ecology (landscape ecology or cultural ecology) today, but also to the holistic, open-system and dynamic/process orientation the science ecology takes. By 'ecological' I mean a life-based, environment-oriented, evolution-directed reasoning and outlook. I like to therefore 3: Tulip Fields 4: Korean Wrapping Cloth So, as I talk about 'landscape' and 'design', both a 'Dutch subject' and Dutch strength, I like to talk more specifically about the unresolved tension between Modernity and Environmentalism. I believe that this tension needs to be explained and resolved to ensure Dutch leadership in 'integrative' and 'sustainable' environmental design. void here all ideological, fundamentalist, deterministic, conservative and even totalitarian characterization of the ecological approach to architecture and landscape architecture (as for instance in the case of rejection of 'foreign' or 'invasive' plants). Science is neutral, and art, as the aesthetician Herbert Read correctly noted, is a biological phenomenon. 3 (Cohen, ; Koh,1978). 4 Fitch, 1968 10: Attacking the modernist destruction of the ancient urban fabric of Paris, F.J. Batellier 11: Seoul, Korea 4. The cost of modernity, however, has been far more disastrous in East Asia than Europe, particularly in many rapidly industrializing nations without participatory democracy. This is in stark contrast to how the West has successfully assimilated Eastern philosophy and aesthetics in the beginning phase of Modern art and architecture towards the late 19 th century and early 20 th century. 5. Searching alternatives to Modernity, architects and landscape architects had engaged natural and social scientists in a lukewarm manner in the late 1960's and 1970's. Out of frustration of not getting out of their own 'box', and their inability to find a proper aesthetic language and design strategy, to go beyond Modernity, some of them went back to Modernist art with its self-referential and elitist attitudes. This is then the 'new modern', or 'soft modern'. 6. Without new language of design to effectively displace the old, in this case Modernity, even Ian McHarg, a pioneering proponent of the ecological approach in landscape architecture, was anti-architecture and anti-city, and favored the 'Romantic' English 'picturesque garden' and rustic,
An ecosystemic role for Architectural style : bearing 'the plan' in 'mind
2015
© © U Un ni iv ve er rs si it ty y o of f P Pr re et to or ri ia a 'Architecture has nothing to do with the "styles"' (LeCorbusier, 1986(1923]:47). For Mom and Dad Digitised by the University of Pretoria, Library Services, 2015 © © U Un ni iv ve er rs si it ty y o of f P Pr re et to or ri ia a i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To be involved in tertiary education is a privilege. To teach that for which one was merely trained to practice is an exciting voyage of discovery. My time in teaching matches almost my extended time of being formally taught in the discipline. I have 'learnt' architecture twice, once by rote and once in humility. To thank all by name would be difficult. All my educators at all times, my colleagues, of all institutions and in practice, my students past and present, my friends and my family share in the achievements of this study. They have all mostly borne and sometimes dragged me through difficult times. Even when I was floating they were there. The technical demands of producing this document are such that if Kobie Olivier, Rosa Olivier, Frank Gaylard, Francois Swanepoel, Elaine Silver and Eve Stanley had not helped it would never have happened. To them my gratitude. All the librarians of the Merensky Library, 'en by name' Annetjie Greyling, Hannie Bezuidenhout, Gerda Pretorius and Carin le Roux, have not only been helpful but also supportive. To all of them my appreciation. The bursars Neill Powell and Neill are hereby acknowledged for their 1990 award. Schalk le Roux, as Subject Coordinator of Environmental History, through friendship and example, having himself trod the path, made the study less formidable and highlighted its pleasures. Digitised by the University of Pretoria, Library Services, 2015 © © U Un ni iv ve er rs si it ty y o of f P Pr re et to or ri ia a ii Prof. Dieter Holm has been instrumental in introducing me to a particular manner of thinking. This, in consolidating my own catholic interests, has not only been intellectually satisfying but also enriching. He has been inspirational, critically astute, mindful of my failings and tolerant of my iconoclasms. I could and would have had no other mentor for this particular study.
Squatting My Mind: Towards an Architectural Ecosophy
Understanding ecology as a widely-drawn category that encompasses objects and ideas, organic species and their habitats, inseparably linked together, ecology clearly involves architecture on countless levels, by far exceeding the parameters of sustainable building technology that dominate conceptions of this field. Primarily addressing the ‘mental ecology’ of architecture – that is, how architecture is thought and constructed within the discipline – this article furthers an understanding of how occupancy has the power to undo central architectural concepts. Such an undoing is seen as a prerequisite for what Félix Guattari has denoted ecosophy – the ethico-political articulation between the three, interconnected ecological registers: that of the environment, of social relations and the realm of ideas. Considered within an ecological intellectual framework, notions of resistance, spatial appropriation and indeterminacy in architecture are seen to evolve as steps along the way in the urgent task of re-writing architecture’s ontology. It points towards an architecture of shifts and additions, of re-uses and re-inventions; an architecture that generously permits a variety of uses and a continuous production of meaning.
IKSAD International Publishing House, 2023
The science of ecology is concerned with human-nature relations as well as the development of renewable and harmless energy sources. Especially in the 20th and 21st centuries, the damage caused to the ecosystem by human activities has made it necessary to search and research methods and ways of repairing as well as protecting the ecology. In today's world of high energy demand, the use of renewable clean energy, materials and technology is essential for the protection and restoration of the deteriorating ecosystem. In architecture, studies are carried out on ecological approaches in architectural design in order to ensure that construction activities are not against nature but in harmony with the ecosystem. Ecological approaches in architecture are addressed by different sources (design phase - production phase - use phase - post-use phase) under the main headings of resource conservation, environmental pollution control, climatic design, providing healthy conditions in interiors, structural waste management control, life cycle assessment (Tönük, 2001; Yılmaz, 2005; Williams & FAIA, 2007). In the structural sense, the concept of ecological approaches in architecture covers the size and function of the building, its relationship with the land, façade design (façade gaps and technology), material selection, and resource utilization. Ecological approaches in architecture also relate to concepts such as sustainability and smart designs and come up with concepts with different practices and scopes such as "eco-building, eco-cities, eco-tec cities, eco-design, eco village, eco campus, green ecological architecture...". In the 21st century, these design methods, which have become not only a necessity but also a trend and a marketing product, are taking their place in cities at micro and macro scales. Ecological approaches to cities and architecture have been developed by different disciplines in response to the urban problems that emerged due to the rapid construction after World War II. One of the important examples of these early studies is the work of Austrian painter and environmental activist Friedensreich Hundertwasser. The artist intensely criticized the post-World War II urbanization and construction dominated by concrete, which developed in the context of rational architecture. The artist accused rational architecture of "cutting off man's relationship with nature, of being flat and artificial". In 1958, the artist revealed his ecological vision with the "Mouldiness Manifesto Against Rationalism In Architecture" and in the following years, he manifested his thoughts on ecological architecture with his demonstrations, speeches, models, drawings and projects. Within the scope of this study, the ecology philosophy of Hundertwasser, who aims to protect ecology at every stage of his design (design - production - use - post-use) throughout his production life (1958-2000) and produces manifestos and architectural projects in this context, will be examined. Hundertwasser does not see ecological design as green integrated into the built environment. The artist produced with the vision that the built environment should be built together with the natural environment, not against it, and revealed his philosophy with his own methods and manifestos. In this study, Hundertwasser's ecological design approaches and proposals, which started with the Mouldiness Manifesto in 1958 and continued until his death, will be revealed, and the projections of his ecological philosophy in today's ecological architecture will be evaluated. The environmental vision and works of the artist, who argues that ecological architecture is a physical and psychological necessity, are inspiring for today's ecological design studies. This study will discuss the reflections of the artist's eco vision on the present day and open new horizons for future studies. The study was created by the literature review method. The main purpose of the study is to contribute to the ecological architecture literature, which is a current topic of discussion open to development, by reading the eco-philosophy of Hundertwasser, an eco-activist. The discussion within the scope of the research is important in today's world where ecological problems are increasing rapidly, yet solution proposals remain singular. In the first part of the study, Hundertwasser's ecological philosophy and ecological architectural approaches will be revealed by reading his manifestos, speeches, drawings and projects. In the second part, the reflections of the artist's philosophy in today's ecological architecture will be analyzed. Finally, the micro- and macro-scale architectural approaches to the artist's ecological philosophy will be discussed and evaluated by cross-referencing them with contemporary ecological approaches.
ENVIRONMENTAL & ARCHITECTURAL PHENOMENOLOGY (winter/spring 2021)
ENVIRONMENTAL & ARCHITECTURAL PHENOMENOLOGY, 2021
This 2021 winter/spring issue of Environmental & Architectural Phenomenology includes five essays: (1) Stephen Wood’s commentary relating to the phenomenology of animal welfare; (2) Claudia Mausner's discussion of liminality, place, home, and multiple “homes”; (3) Tim White’s firsthand examination of the human-sustaining walkability of Florence, Italy; (4) Edward Relph’s penetrating overview of the future of places and place experiences in the 21st century; and (5) Levent Şentürk’s creative effort to summarize graphically the work of urban designer Kevin Lynch’s seminal The Image of the City (1961). Please note: If you are using a Mac machine, the full PDF will not appear properly unless you download the PDF. For some reason, academia.edu does not fully accommodate Apple products. As a result, a good number of the graphics of the issue don't appear.
Non-technical approach to the challenges of ecological architecture: Learning from Van der Laan
Frontiers of Architectural Research, 2016
Up to now, ecology has a strong influence on the development of technical and instrumental aspects of architecture, such as renewable and efficient of resources and energy, CO 2 emissions, air quality, water reuse, some social and economical aspects. These concepts define the physical keys and codes of the current 'sustainable' architecture, normally instrumental but rarely and insufficiently theorised. But is not there another way of bringing us to nature? We need a theoretical referent. This is where we place the Van der Laan's thoughts: he considers that art completes nature and he builds his theoretical discourse on it, trying to better understand many aspects of architecture. From a conceptual point of view, we find in his works sense of timelessness, universality, special attention on the 'locus' and a strict sense of proportions and use of materials according to nature. Could these concepts complement our current sustainable architecture? How did Laan apply the current codes of ecology in his architecture? His work may help us to get a theoretical interpretation of nature and not only physical. This paper develops this idea through the comparison of thoughts and works of Laan with the current technical approach to 'sustainable' architecture.
Architecture Ecology and the Nature Culture Continuum
The Nature of Cities, 2012
Both ecologists and architects need to together embrace the nature-culture continuum and to examine all the ways Nature is imagined, framed, viewed, cultivated, and used by city dwellers, as well as when it refuses to be tamed the way we expect it to. Our own intimate engagement with Nature emerges inside a particular natural-cultural continuum. Various human social groups construct different views of nature and act according to their particular sets of beliefs. This is the basis of the micro-politics of ecology.
The atmospheric ecologies of Peter Sloterdijk: A new thinker for architecture?
2009
In a recent interview, Bruno Latour, one of the founding progenitors of ANT (Actor Network Theory) and champion of Science and Technology Studies stated emphatically that the German philosopher, Peter Sloterdijk, "is the thinker of architecture", (New Geographies, 0,3). By the use of the definite article it seems that we are to understand that Sloterdijk is the thinker of architecture today, and that the pressing problems that Sloterdijk can help us address include the implications that would result should architecture and design venture into the future production of biological species, as well as their ecological niches: A problem that Sloterdijk infamously addressed in his 1999 essay, Rules for the Human Zoo: A Response to the Letter on Humanism. The intricacies of ecological atmospheres and their affects are present from Sloterdijk's early work, for instance, within The Critique of Cynical Reason, and become explicitly formulated in the Sphären (Spheres) trilogy, only fragments of which have been translated into English. The first part of this essay will present an introduction to Sloterdijk's atmospheric ecologies. By atmosphere Sloterdijk sets forth not merely the affective qualities of ecological niches in natural and artefactual mixtures, but an ethics and politics of such spheres of existence. In the latter part of this essay I will set out a tentative ethico-aesthetics that can be drawn from Sloterdijk's work in order to address the question of ecologies at the three scales of mental, social and environmental ecologies, and how design comes to play a role in the creation and destruction of these interrelated ecologies. In this I will also have the opportunity to draw on Félix Guattari's ethico-aesthetics, and his formulation of the three ecologies, which I have appropriated above.