Architecture & Nature: Essays 1-5, 2002

Architecture and Nature Essay No 4:
The Complex Problems of Tomorrow ­ – Production Values

There can be no revolution in the industrialised regions of the world with regard to the way we extract, process, manufacture, distribute, design and consume materials – only a long campaign will eventually change our habits, and this theme in l’Arca can be seen to be a small but important part.

The architecture we produce, and how we make our buildings, is a reflection of our worldview. Yet, in a society still dominated by the culture of science and technology this still remains difficult for architects to assess in real terms within the present economic model. It is still difficult to access and realistically compare hard facts on energy, labour, social impact, and the renewability of materials used in construction. Graphs depicting comparative energy consumption of, for example, extracting raw materials or of processing them do exist, however, these ‘facts’, important as they are in signalling awareness, represent little in terms of the more complete picture. For example, we do not necessarily have the combined knowledge of the energy sources used, their comparative polluting effects, the effect of the production processes on the health of workers in these industries and their consequent social as well as economic cost, etc.

As my own work shows, I am not suggesting any sentimentality of attachment to the past that nearly always encourages a misplaced desire to imitate it. That motive is usually delusional, and symptomatic of a loss of faith in the present, and a fear of the future. This is very different from a concern about the decay of society and the loss of humanitarian values. These phenomena are real enough, and associated with the ever-increasing materialism and division of society, as material goals eclipse other aspirations.

All design work should be aimed at producing a world that is a better place to live in for all, where people are able to understand more, where people are less oppressed and people live less dreary lives, where they have more control over their environment and feel proud to work together. This is what should be bringing us together.

Humanity and intelligence have as much to do with the process of decision-making as with the tangible artifacts that result from our application of science, technology and economics.

© Ian Ritchie 03/2002