a+u 2012:04 Small and Sustainability

a+u 2012:04

3,000 ¥

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Post Architecture Books Ringringdo Shop

SKU: 401204 Category: Architecture and Urbanism (a+u)

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English + Japanese / 128 Pages / 219 x 292 mm / 500 g

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Digital EditionZinio

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Paper EditionAmazon US

Content

Feature: Small and Sustainability

It seems safe to say that the relationship between architecture and society is something that we have never stopped discussing. Recently, however, there has been a remarkable intensification in the way that architects are rethinking what they themselves can do as individuals, and how they can contribute to society.

This issue features simple and small examples of how architecture can contribute to realizing the sustainable society of the future. The featured works include a house with thick cobwork walls made of a mixture of clay and straw (Switzerland); a mountain hut of in-situ concrete built with formwork from old exterior paneling (Switzerland); a reconstructed boathouse with interior walls and window frames of discarded lumber (Norway); a weekend house originally built in the 15th century and converted several times for different uses (Italy); an extension to a 200-year-old wine cellar (Austria); a house renovated by the clients themselves for four years (Belgium); bamboo sleeping units for orphans (Thailand), and so on.

The issue also features five energy-efficient houses, including two experimental university research projects.
Rotor, a collective of young Belgian researchers who investigate design, material resources, and waste, contributed an essay for this issue. It introduces the concept of C2C popularized by the book Cradle to Cradle by William McDonough and Michael Braungart, which holds that waste can be eliminated by proper design. It examines the case of standard plasterboard, which was recently certified as a C2C product. (a+u)