No More Architecture - Doina Petrescu, Constantin Petcou
self-managed architecture workshop: R FOR R-URBAN
The Faculty of Architecture at the Brno University of Technology, in collaboration with the Brno Architecture Gallery, invites you to the lecture "R as R-Urban" by Doina Petrescu and Constantin Petcou from the atelier d’architecture autogérée (aaa), which is part of the lecture series "No More Architecture" on the topic of degrowth in architecture. The event will take place on Thursday, December 10, 2020, at 19:00, streamed online on YouTube. The lecture will be in English. The lecture and the subsequent discussion will be moderated by Eliška Pomyjová.
Online YouTube stream: https://youtu.be/-nENZ19n0I0
ZOOM app: https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/94249453034
Meeting ID: 942 4945 3034
ATELIER D’ARCHITECTURE AUTOGÉRÉE: R AS R-URBAN
Repairing disrupted social relations, altered subjectivities, limited imaginations, unjust policies, and unequal economies, as well as maintaining values in neighborhoods, redressing poor architecture, damaged environments, and, last but not least, caring for the planet—these are ambitious goals of the R-Urban project, initiated by the atelier d'architecture autogérée collective. R-Urban aims to create an ecology based on the general sharing of goods, through a network of community centers where residents of suburban neighborhoods can develop resilience approaches and create locally closed ecological cycles. Since 2011, five such centers have been established in Paris and London. The contribution will critically describe the successes and failures of this project.
Doina Petrescu is a professor of "Architecture and Design Activism" at the University of Sheffield. She is the editor of the publication Altering Practices: Feminist Politics and Poetics of Space (2007) and co-editor of Architecture and Resilience (2018), The Social (Re)Production of Architecture (2017), Agency: Working with Uncertain Architectures (2009), and Architecture and Participation (2005).
Constantin Petcou is a Parisian architect whose work emphasizes the intersection of architecture, urbanism, design, and semiotics. With Doina Petrescu, he is a co-founder of atelier d'architecture autogérée (aaa), a professional organization dedicated to activities and research in the field of participatory urbanism and architecture. Their projects engage local residents in self-governed initiatives in their neighborhoods, addressing social and ecological approaches and the creation of resilient communities. aaa is the laureate of the 2017 Innovation in Politics Awards, the 2012 Zumtobel Prize for Sustainability and Humanity, the 2011 Curry Stone Design Prize, the 2010 European Prize for Urban Public Space, and the 2010 Prix Grand Public des Architectures contemporaines en Métropole Parisienne. aaa is also the publisher of the book series –ACT supporting the dissemination of activist practices: Urban ACT (2007), Trans-Local ACT (2010), R-Urban ACT (2015), Learn to ACT (2017).
NO MORE ARCHITECTURE
Our contemporary society faces perhaps the greatest challenges in its history – the climate crisis and the loss of biodiversity, alongside growing social inequalities, the movement of war and climate refugees, among others. Architecture also shares in this state – the construction industry contributes 40% of global carbon emissions, and real estate represents the most lucrative form of investment, leading to speculation, the financialization of housing, the privatization of services and public spaces, etc., contributing to further growth of social inequalities. We must reconsider the currently valid premises of architecture based on growth (the creation of new). It is not enough to design low-energy houses or realize green roofs—some of the measures that are seen in the Czech context as "sustainable architecture." Although they can be considered progressive (yet not commonly implemented), it is not sufficient.
We must strive for a more radical redefinition of architecture. It is necessary to discuss what role architecture should play in our society and how it can really contribute to improving the living conditions of everyone, without negative impacts on the environment. Let us think about architecture of care, maintenance, renovation, or simply reprogramming. Architecture that serves the community instead of capital and does not harm but instead supports social ties and environmental processes. In the words of Jeremy Till and Tatjana Schneider, the solution is not always "adding more stuff to the world." The crisis cannot be solved solely by technologies (as many suggest); it requires a transformation of our behavior, or – even better – our desires.
Investment and growth and the rationality associated with these concepts have something in common with a certain type of rationality of "sustainable architecture" and also relate to a certain way of practicing architecture. If we truly want to address the issues of the planetary crisis, we need to change the type of rationality (the way of thinking) and architectural practice.
The aim of the lecture is not to present an overview of the projects of an architect or studio but rather to detail the process (including, for example, related political and bureaucratic processes) and the (social and environmental) consequences of a specific selected project. We would like to use the lecture series as inspiration for the practice of students and (future) architects, to expand their imagination of how they can work – how they can choose clients, how they can find collaborators, initiate projects, or find support for their ideas. We also value the implementation of sustainability and ethical standards into the structure of the office. As part of the lecture series, we also invite other professionals such as curators, theorists, urbanists, landscape architects, etc.
More information >
Online YouTube stream: https://youtu.be/-nENZ19n0I0
ZOOM app: https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/94249453034
Meeting ID: 942 4945 3034
ATELIER D’ARCHITECTURE AUTOGÉRÉE: R AS R-URBAN
Repairing disrupted social relations, altered subjectivities, limited imaginations, unjust policies, and unequal economies, as well as maintaining values in neighborhoods, redressing poor architecture, damaged environments, and, last but not least, caring for the planet—these are ambitious goals of the R-Urban project, initiated by the atelier d'architecture autogérée collective. R-Urban aims to create an ecology based on the general sharing of goods, through a network of community centers where residents of suburban neighborhoods can develop resilience approaches and create locally closed ecological cycles. Since 2011, five such centers have been established in Paris and London. The contribution will critically describe the successes and failures of this project.
Doina Petrescu is a professor of "Architecture and Design Activism" at the University of Sheffield. She is the editor of the publication Altering Practices: Feminist Politics and Poetics of Space (2007) and co-editor of Architecture and Resilience (2018), The Social (Re)Production of Architecture (2017), Agency: Working with Uncertain Architectures (2009), and Architecture and Participation (2005).
Constantin Petcou is a Parisian architect whose work emphasizes the intersection of architecture, urbanism, design, and semiotics. With Doina Petrescu, he is a co-founder of atelier d'architecture autogérée (aaa), a professional organization dedicated to activities and research in the field of participatory urbanism and architecture. Their projects engage local residents in self-governed initiatives in their neighborhoods, addressing social and ecological approaches and the creation of resilient communities. aaa is the laureate of the 2017 Innovation in Politics Awards, the 2012 Zumtobel Prize for Sustainability and Humanity, the 2011 Curry Stone Design Prize, the 2010 European Prize for Urban Public Space, and the 2010 Prix Grand Public des Architectures contemporaines en Métropole Parisienne. aaa is also the publisher of the book series –ACT supporting the dissemination of activist practices: Urban ACT (2007), Trans-Local ACT (2010), R-Urban ACT (2015), Learn to ACT (2017).
NO MORE ARCHITECTURE
Our contemporary society faces perhaps the greatest challenges in its history – the climate crisis and the loss of biodiversity, alongside growing social inequalities, the movement of war and climate refugees, among others. Architecture also shares in this state – the construction industry contributes 40% of global carbon emissions, and real estate represents the most lucrative form of investment, leading to speculation, the financialization of housing, the privatization of services and public spaces, etc., contributing to further growth of social inequalities. We must reconsider the currently valid premises of architecture based on growth (the creation of new). It is not enough to design low-energy houses or realize green roofs—some of the measures that are seen in the Czech context as "sustainable architecture." Although they can be considered progressive (yet not commonly implemented), it is not sufficient.
We must strive for a more radical redefinition of architecture. It is necessary to discuss what role architecture should play in our society and how it can really contribute to improving the living conditions of everyone, without negative impacts on the environment. Let us think about architecture of care, maintenance, renovation, or simply reprogramming. Architecture that serves the community instead of capital and does not harm but instead supports social ties and environmental processes. In the words of Jeremy Till and Tatjana Schneider, the solution is not always "adding more stuff to the world." The crisis cannot be solved solely by technologies (as many suggest); it requires a transformation of our behavior, or – even better – our desires.
Investment and growth and the rationality associated with these concepts have something in common with a certain type of rationality of "sustainable architecture" and also relate to a certain way of practicing architecture. If we truly want to address the issues of the planetary crisis, we need to change the type of rationality (the way of thinking) and architectural practice.
The aim of the lecture is not to present an overview of the projects of an architect or studio but rather to detail the process (including, for example, related political and bureaucratic processes) and the (social and environmental) consequences of a specific selected project. We would like to use the lecture series as inspiration for the practice of students and (future) architects, to expand their imagination of how they can work – how they can choose clients, how they can find collaborators, initiate projects, or find support for their ideas. We also value the implementation of sustainability and ethical standards into the structure of the office. As part of the lecture series, we also invite other professionals such as curators, theorists, urbanists, landscape architects, etc.
More information >
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