Anupama Kundoo on Architecture and the Luxury of Time

Summary

The speaker emphasizes the importance of materiality in architecture, not for its physical properties but for the human interaction and craftsmanship it involves. They critique the over-standardization in post-industrial practices and advocate for a return to local, sustainable materials and methods. The speaker also discusses the misuse of time as a resource, suggesting that a slower, more thoughtful approach to building can lead to more sustainable and meaningful architecture, and calls for a shift in environmental discussions to focus on human engagement with materials rather than material composition.

Takeaways

• 🌱 The speaker emphasizes the precarious relationship between the state of nature and human nature, suggesting this is where the problem of precarity unfolds.
• 🏗️ Architecture's significance lies not in its materiality but in the design of spaces that humans inhabit, affecting users through the voids and the thoughtful use of materials.
• ♻️ Materiality concerns both the makers and users of architecture, highlighting the need to reconsider post-industrial practices and over-standardization in material sourcing.
• 🌳 The speaker argues against a material fetish and for a deeper understanding of how humans interact with materials, rather than judging materials as inherently good or bad.
• ⏳ Time is presented as a crucial, underutilized resource, with the way we use it being a key factor in creating problems or solutions in architecture and environmental impact.
• 🏡 Pre-industrial architecture was defined by the time and effort invested in it, not the material cost, reflecting a deeper human connection to the creation process.
• 🌐 The global material culture, exemplified by glass towers, has deepened social divides and affordability issues, impacting the quality of life in urban areas.
• 🔄 The environmental discussion should shift from material characteristics to non-material aspects, such as how we engage with and use materials.
• 🛠️ Craftsmanship and local knowledge are vital in sustainable architecture, and the speaker advocates for a return to valuing these over standardized, industrial practices.
• 🌿 The speaker shares experiences of creating architecture with local materials and methods, demonstrating that it's possible to produce contemporary and sustainable spaces by prioritizing local resources and community engagement.

Q & A

What is the main issue the speaker identifies with the current state of architecture and materiality?

The speaker identifies the problem of precarity in the state of nature and its relationship to human nature, and how this unfolds in architecture. They argue that the essential problem of our times is materiality, and that architecture should not be about the material itself but the voids that humans inhabit.

How does the speaker view the role of users in architecture?

The speaker believes that users are affected by the parts of architecture that are not built, implying that the spaces between and around structures are as important as the structures themselves.

What is the speaker's stance on the relationship between material sourcing and architecture?

The speaker emphasizes that material sourcing is a crucial part of architecture, involving numerous jobs and processes. They argue for a reevaluation of post-industrial practices and the over-standardization that has removed individuality and creativity from architecture.

Why does the speaker argue against labeling materials as inherently good or bad?

The speaker argues against labeling materials as good or bad because all materials come from the earth, and it is the human interaction with and sourcing of these materials that leads to energy consumption and environmental impact.

What does the speaker suggest is the most underutilized resource in relation to architecture?

The speaker suggests that time is the most underutilized resource, and that the way we use our time is creating problems rather than solutions in architecture.

How does the speaker view the historical approach to architecture in terms of material use?

The speaker views historical approaches to architecture as more sustainable and in tune with local resources, where materials were used based on availability and local knowledge, rather than a globalized material culture.

What is the speaker's opinion on the current global material culture of glass towers?

The speaker criticizes the current global material culture of glass towers for its high cost, both financially and environmentally, and for deepening social divides through issues of affordability and access.

Why does the speaker advocate for a shift in environmental discussions about materials?

The speaker advocates for a shift from discussing the materials themselves to focusing on the non-material aspects of how humans engage with materials, emphasizing the importance of human interaction and process over material type.

What alternative approach to architecture does the speaker propose to address environmental concerns?

The speaker proposes an alternative approach that values local materials, traditional knowledge, and craftsmanship over industrialized, standardized materials and processes, aiming to reduce energy consumption and environmental impact.

How does the speaker's personal experience in rural areas influence their architectural philosophy?

The speaker's experience in rural areas led them to recognize the abundance of local resources and the potential for using these resources creatively in architecture, challenging the notion that there is 'nothing' in rural areas and promoting the use of local knowledge and materials.

What is the speaker's view on the role of education in architectural practice?

The speaker believes in hands-on education that involves direct confrontation with real scale, real materials, real people, and real places, arguing that this approach prevents alienation between academia and practice and prepares students better for the field.

Outlines

00:00

🌟 Introduction to Precarity and Materiality

The speaker begins by expressing gratitude for the invitation and introduces the themes of precarity and materiality. They assert that the precariousness lies in the relationship between nature and human nature, suggesting that this is where the problem of precarity unfolds. The speaker emphasizes the importance of materiality in the context of architecture, but clarifies that their focus is on the design of spaces rather than the materials themselves. They argue that the impact of architecture is felt in the voids it creates, affecting users through the absence of built elements. The speaker also touches on the role of materials in architecture, the skills of makers, and the need to reconsider materiality in light of over-standardization and its environmental implications.

52:09

🏗️ The Human Element in Architecture

The speaker delves into the human aspect of architecture, discussing the involvement of every person as either a user or a maker. They highlight the importance of considering the entire supply chain and the makers' skills from material sourcing to construction. The speaker critiques the over-standardization in architecture, which they believe leads to a loss of individuality and creativity. They advocate for a reevaluation of materiality, focusing on how humans interact with materials rather than judging materials as inherently good or bad. The speaker also discusses the misuse of time as a resource, suggesting that our approach to time use is a significant contributor to architectural and environmental problems.

57:11

🌐 Global Material Culture and Its Impact

The speaker addresses the global material culture, particularly the prevalence of glass towers, and the high costs associated with them, both financially and environmentally. They discuss the divide created by affordability and access issues in cities, leading to a dual existence within urban environments. The speaker also criticizes the standardization of materials like reinforced cement concrete and calls for a shift in environmental discussions to focus on non-material aspects of engagement with materials. They argue for a more scientific approach to labeling polluting vehicles and materials, and for a reduction in unnecessary activities that consume resources and contribute to stress and frustration.

02:16

🌱 Sustainable Practices in Material Sourcing

The speaker illustrates sustainable practices in material sourcing by discussing the example of brick making using local clay and natural fuels. They critique green rating systems for not considering the full lifecycle and energy use in material production. The speaker also discusses the displacement of traditional knowledge and expertise due to the preference for standardized materials like Portland cement. They argue for a more informed and considered approach to material use in architecture, emphasizing the importance of local knowledge and the potential for creating luxury through craftsmanship and the use of local resources.

07:19

⚒️ Collaboration and Innovation in Architecture

The speaker shares their experiences in rural areas, where they found abundance in local resources and idle human resources. They discuss how they utilized local materials and knowledge to create sustainable and insulating building solutions. The speaker emphasizes the importance of prioritizing craft and the intelligence of humans in the creation of architecture. They also discuss their experiments with reducing cement use and incorporating waste materials into the building process. The speaker concludes by advocating for a collaborative approach to architecture, where knowledge, community, and building are developed simultaneously, and for an educational system that prepares students for real-world practice.

12:23

🌿 The Future of Urban Design and Collaboration

In the final paragraph, the speaker discusses their role in the urban design of Auroville, an international city designed by Roger Anger. They highlight the importance of creating habitats that do not deplete resources and the potential for cities to be sustainable and collaborative. The speaker shares their vision for the future of architecture, which includes vertical and compact designs that connect with the surrounding environment. They emphasize the need for architects to move from competition to collaboration and to create high-density, horizontal spaces that promote community and resource sharing. The speaker concludes by showcasing their work at the Louisiana Museum, which demonstrates the potential for global contribution to architectural projects.

Keywords

💡Precarity

Precarity refers to the condition of being precarious, which in the context of the video, is used to describe the uncertain and unstable relationship between the state of nature and human nature. The speaker suggests that this relationship is where the problem of precarity unfolds, indicating a concern for the vulnerability of our existence and the environment we inhabit.

💡Materiality

Materiality in the video is discussed as a central problem of our times, but the speaker clarifies that architecture's essence for them lies not in the material itself but in the voids designed for human habitation. The speaker critiques the over-standardization in material use and advocates for a reevaluation of materiality based on human interaction and the sourcing of materials, rather than judging materials as inherently good or bad.

💡Design of the Voids

The 'design of the voids' is a concept introduced to express that the impact of architecture is not just in what is built but also in the spaces that are intentionally left unbuilt. This concept is used to highlight how the absence of material can influence user experience and the environment positively.

💡Post-Industrial Practice

Post-industrial practice is mentioned as a need to rethink materiality due to the over-standardization and specialization that has occurred in the industrial era. The speaker calls for an analysis of these practices to move towards a more sustainable and individualized approach to architecture and material use.

💡Human Scale

The 'human scale' is discussed in relation to how architecture and urban design should be relatable and accessible to people. The speaker argues that the current global material culture, exemplified by glass towers, has lost touch with the human scale, leading to a divide in society and a lack of affordability and accessibility.

💡Sustainability

Sustainability is a recurring theme, with the speaker advocating for a shift in focus from the material itself to the processes and practices involved in sourcing and using materials. They argue against a material fetish and for a more nuanced understanding of how materials are used and their environmental impact.

💡Ingenuity

Ingenuity is used to describe the creative and inventive capabilities of humans, particularly in the context of architecture. The speaker points out that historically, luxurious architecture was a result of the time and ingenuity invested in it, rather than the cost or type of material used.

💡Craftsmanship

Craftsmanship is highlighted as a critical aspect of architecture that is being displaced by standardized industrial practices. The speaker emphasizes the importance of valuing and incorporating local craftsmanship and traditional building techniques, which are often more sustainable and connected to the community.

💡Decentralized Intelligence

Decentralized intelligence refers to the collective knowledge and problem-solving abilities of individuals that are分散 and not centralized. The speaker criticizes the current culture for undermining this intelligence in favor of standardized practices, leading to a loss of diversity and creativity in architecture.

💡Collaboration

Collaboration is presented as a key principle for the future of architecture and urban design. The speaker argues for a shift from competition to collaboration, suggesting that working together can lead to more effective, sustainable, and community-oriented outcomes in building projects.

💡Affordability

Affordability is a significant concern in the video, with the speaker discussing how current architectural practices and material choices have led to a divide in society where certain groups cannot afford quality living spaces. They propose rethinking materiality and design to address these issues and make better use of resources.

Highlights

The state of nature and its relationship to human nature is the root of precarity.

Architecture's essence lies in the design of voids, not just materiality.

The impact of architecture is felt in the unbuilt spaces and the materials used.

Materiality concerns both the makers and users of architecture, emphasizing the role of human involvement.

The number of makers in architecture is significant, starting from material sourcing to construction.

The need to rethink materiality due to over-standardization in post-industrial practices.

Materiality should not be judged by the material itself but by human interaction and sourcing methods.

Time is the most underutilized resource, often misused in creating problems instead of solutions.

Pre-industrial architecture utilized available materials without material fetishism.

Luxurious architecture was historically defined by the time invested in craftsmanship, not material cost.

Global material culture, like glass towers, has deepened social divides and affordability issues.

Reinforced cement concrete, now a vernacular material, is high in energy consumption.

Environmental discussions should focus on non-material aspects of human engagement with materials.

The human scale is diminishing in our habitat and processes due to standardized culture.

Efficiency in unnecessary tasks is questioned, emphasizing the importance of doing things that matter.

Many buildings are results of what the architect chose not to do, highlighting the value of restraint.

Comparing industrial and non-industrial methods of production reveals the sustainability of local practices.

The importance of local knowledge and materials in architecture is emphasized over standardized materials.

The speaker's projects focus on using local resources and human intelligence to create sustainable architecture.

The idea of designing the building process to build knowledge and community is introduced.

Experiments in reducing cement usage and utilizing waste materials in construction are highlighted.

The necessity for hands-on education in architecture to bridge the gap between academia and practice.

The future of architecture should shift from competition to collaboration for effective and excellent outcomes.

Transcripts

Good morning, everyone,

and thank you for having me here.

I will make a statement

on precarity before I go into sharing my thoughts with you:

I think what is precarious

is the state of nature

and its relationship to the state of human nature.

I think that's where

the problem of precarity

will unfold.

I want to talk to you about materiality,

because if one zooms out and sees the big picture

I think

that one of the essential problems

of our times is the materiality.

Although architecture for me does not lie in its materiality,

but in the design of the voids that humans inhabit.

So the users are affected by the part we didn't build.

And the materials that we hold to build those spaces

and the ways different practices have yet just discussed with us.

The materiality concerns

on one hand, the makers of architecture, the skills.

So every human is involved in architecture as a user or as a maker.

And the makers, the number of makers is not to be underestimated.

You know, it begins with material sourcing and all the people whose jobs

are related to products with which architecture is made.

And the biggest transition there

and why I think materiality has to be rethought is because of

the need to analyze

post-industrial practice and the whole habit

that we've created of over standardization.

And on the other hand,

being so standard that there's no space for the individual anymore.

It's all about specialization and the big supply chain and all of that.

And because of that,

I think I would like to talk about materiality, not as an external

aspect, as if the material is good or bad.

And I find it very, very dangerous to be talking about

environmental problems, as if the material itself is good or bad,

it's mud versus concrete. Materials all come from the earth.

It's how the human interacted with the material and how they sourced it,

that's where the energy consumption takes place,

whether it is done in a small scale or a big scale, etc.

I forgot to even show slides.

I want to talk to you about materiality, not

looking at materials external to ourselves,

but from the lens of how humans interact with materials

and why I think time

is the most underutilized resource.

Or rather its a resource

we are all misusing our lifetime on the earth.

The way we use our time

is creating the problem rather than the solution.

So I mean, if you look at

pre-industrial architecture,

we built architecture with any material.

If there was mud, you used mud, if there was wood, you used wood

if it's a desert, there's no wood,

you make domes.

If there's ice, you used ice.

So, there shouldn't be a material fetish,

which comes from a global

sense of boredom sometimes.

You know, there is a deep, deep relationship

between what you produce and where you produce it.

And in former times,

luxurious architecture was defined

not by the material and its cost, but by how much time humans gave to it, to craft

it, to make ingeniously bigger and bigger spans, taller and taller buildings.

It's not the material that changed. The ingenuity of the human

through the making. We made things

and the things made us. I mean, the things we made, made us.

So we evolved through

the constraints we had.

So for housing,

you would do it simpler. For temples

you would do it over people's lifetimes, maybe 400 years

to build a thing properly.

Today we have a global material culture of the glass tower.

And because it comes at a very high cost,

not only in money terms.

We have crystallized and deepened the divide in the world

through

affordable issues, affordability issues and access issues, etc..

And you can see that

we live in cities where there are two

different cities always.

And this is no more only a situation of India.

You know, it's you can go to Madrid or go to any periphery.

You see that the people who got there first, like in New York,

they have a different quality of life than the ones who are going to come later.

And you will have to pay a whole lot

for a very shitty apartment, a bigger percentage of your salary.

And we don't know which one is more miserable;

the one who has the autonomy but then not have a certain standard

or the other one who's paid a whole life savings to have a little hole,

which he can't distinguish from the other one. You don't know.

So it takes away your whole autonomy. So that's one thing.

And on the other hand

, you know, reinforced cement concrete has become a vernacular material now.

But they are high energy materials with which those things are made.

And I really want to take the

environmental discussion, especially when we talk about,

The environmental impact of materials,

I would really like to shift that from talking about the materials

to talking about the non-material aspects of how we engage with it.

We only measure what we can measure and all the things you can't measure,

which are very important, are completely left out of the criteria.

And then you don't think about

"what are you using it for?"

Should every park bench be now made of concrete

just because it can be made and because it's there?

So I think the human scale is going out of the landscape,

of our habitat, but the human scale is also going out of our processes,

out of the decentralized intelligence that everybody has

is being completely left out

because of us being molded,

indoctrinated in a standardized culture where each person who's intelligent feels

that "I'm the only one struggling with the so-called system, which won't let me." So

I also ask myself, what is

the point of doing efficiently things that need not be done at all?

And a lot of the materiality

Actually I mean, the whole thing doesn't have to be done.

But instead we are saying: "how is everybody going to afford this

high tech solar transport

method walk?"

If I walk, they're not going to call me eco.

And if I use a bicycle,

it will not be called eco unless it's a high tech solar something

something bike.

You know, it's time we start calling

the polluting vehicles "a polluting vehicle"

then we don't have to justify things that are nonpolluting.

Let's not call things out for being sustainable.

Let's say what is not sustainable.

So, for example, that would be more scientific.

When there is a new polluting car launched, you can say

"you've come up with the next generation of polluting vehicles."

That's the real truth.

This is important.

First of all, if we didn't do half the things we do,

we would have a good life.

We would be less stressed.

We would not make wrong decisions.

We would't be frustrated.

And we wouldn't need to bully other people in workplaces.

All of that would be gone.

And a lot of materials would be saved.

I started realizing by looking around that,

a lot of my

buildings,

a lot of the things I did, where the result of all the things I didn't do

because all the things I said "no" to, left me

with all this time that I said just now,

and with the time you have, even if you give any person twice

the time that they had to do a design, will it be better or worse?

So why is the West saying "time is money?"

It's wrong.

Take twice as much of the time you will come up with a product

where you will use at least half the resources

and you might like it enough that you don't need to

take it down in a few years.

So I realize that already by roaming around my

time, thus liberated,

helped me to pay attention closely to

how humans

interact with materials from the time materials are sourced.

And I started comparing industrial with non-industrial ways of doing

the same product, like making bricks. Making anything for that matter.

I have these lovely brick slides So I´m showing bricks,

but basically when in a normal landscape bricks are made

there are all different materials.

What makes this brick sustainable is the fact that

the clay collected here after monsoon, the guys are using it,

They have grown their trees.

They are using the thinnings to fire it.

And when the fiering is done,

the kiln will be dismantled like a Jenga installation.

It will be back into a territory.

And next year it will be up again.

So now what happens in the green rating systems?

A brick is considered bad because it has X, Y, Z, kilojoules.

But burnt with what fuel? for them

It's completely irrelevant if you use coal or you use coconut leaves,

or if you made a thousand

with your own clay or you went and made a huge monstrous quarry somewhere.

So I want to talk about those things. And

the

same goes for lime. There are entire communities

whose expertize is being displaced because

architects who don't know about those things, they will just

prescribe the Portland cement, not because they consciously considered it

but they just didn't know what else you could have done because for clay

and for any of these materials, you won't have a standard.

It's not like a two minute Maggi Noodles.

You will have to know a little more.

You don't just do this.

You will have to know a little more about the clay, a little more.

So is it because we don't know that we are using the standard thing?

Let's be honest over there.

I think it's a lazy culture that is bringing this about

and the cost is we're losing rapidly all those things. When I started making

My early structures with the material on the spot, whatever I have,

everybody told me

all kinds of things, that it's very expensive to do all that.

But I found out project After project, after project,

after project that it's all lies.

It cannot be more expensive to eat the mango from your own tree

than to export it to Germany after it was sprayed with pesticide

And then eat it there and then, when I Get sick there, I have an insurance.

So all this is nonsense.

Stone, stone extraction.

If it is done in this scale, hand extracted,

they are still hand extracting.

And I realized that I could produce contemporary spaces,

right?

By really putting these things in the center stage

and create a sense of luxury

where the people who have less money also find the same thing luxurious as the ones

who have a lot of money instead of finding it very obnoxious, you know?

So when you prioritize the craft, then all the humans relate to it

because we have a common intelligence.

I started producing architecture with all these things

and I've completely run out of time and I forgot to show my slides.

I'm going to just show the slides now. Okay.

Quickly, there are two more minutes, I think, but okay,

I started realizing that, you know,

I when I

moved to a rural area from Bombay, I started noticing. First

I used to think: "there's nothing here. with what do you build?"

And I realized there's never nothing.

If you open your eyes, you see and don't look for a building material.

What do we have abundance of?

What is it?

Lots of idle people, lots of clay,

lots of pots people are trying to sell.

They're losing their livelihood because of urbanization.

So I thought, okay, whatever

There's a lot of how about diverting it into building material?

So through that, I started producing, by the way,

tiled roofs that are more insulating that require no support structure,

No wood. So

taking time, using knowledge,

using only human resources and,

amplifying the impact natural resources.

Human resources are infinite like our intelligence, our muscles,

our memory, our care, infinite. Natural resources are finite.

Let's use what we have a lot of and let's use less of

what we have less of and upgrade the architecture too.

Yeah.

So, you know, I'm

just going to show these images Even these

units are made in the rice field not in a factory.

There's no overheads. Those people who made bricks,

made affordable bricks because they didn't have an eight hour job.

They also grow rice.

They also do other hundreds of things.

Now if I stop buying bricks from them and go to the main company,

then the rice becomes expensive.

I mean, let's look at all the territorial impact.

So through this method, I actually started a lot of experimentation

got much more help from craftsmen than engineers.

Because engineers said: "that is not possible"

because either it is their knowledge or it's the codes

but between those two things, we would not have been able to do anything.

So we went to craftsmen

and they are always excited to make things.

And through their own capacities,

instead of using those cooking pots for cooking pots, I made ceilings

where you require only 30% of the steel

because it's a lost formwork system to make concrete efficient.

I have to skip all the things.

These are pictures. That's my own house.

This was my first hut made with round wood

and my motorbike, Martin, for you.

So I used to live in this kind of a hut

to be able to have an architecture practice and not to be a slave

The best is lower the cost of your own living and liberate your own time.

And so I would go with one solar panel.

Why do you need so many lights?

One long cable.

It's only me in this room

or that room, you know, take the cable and put the light there, put it here.

My motto was: "reduce to the max"

and I realized by doing it there were so many advantages that even

when I had money, I didn't want to go back to using more things.

I wanted just more time, more time, more time, you know, to live.

And through that, I started building

other projects like housing projects and co-housing projects where, you know,

...

I liberated other people's time also.

...

There's always something you can do in a building site.

So I started

checking that the technologies will not alienate us

for people from participate.

I realized that the

idea is to design the building process.

You build knowledge and you build community while you build buildings.

That's, that's the whole idea for me now.

So these are some experiments with reducing cement

by using Ferro cement, using meshes instead of big steel bars

This is in the Venice Biennale

one of the modular home systems I designed called Fulfill Homes,

public toilets, etc.

Testing those materials with engineers in their labs

and seeing what is the advantages of using less material.

It will be better for seismic,

disaster relief, etc.

Okay,

This is my Louisiana exhibition,

I have used this

Ferro cement be cast on paper

with all the Amazon cartons that are coming in.

So waste materials are not only needed

in the final. Architecture has the capacity to permanently absorb waste,

but it has also the capacity to be a building process maker.

Formwork is a very expensive thing and this is what I've been doing

for shelter.

This is a thin, two and a half centimeter

new version of

using cement.

Building with other things

from the garbage, including books.

I'm just showing some pictures

because I want to keep time for others

We're using waste

in building processes,sometimes changing sizes of windows

because you've got a bicycle wheel, etc.

Okay.

And the other thing that was already spoken by the previous speaker,

I believe in thinking with the hands and in education giving students

the opportunity to think one to one through four areas of direct

confrontation: real scale, real materials,

real people and real places.

If you don't do this, you will create an alienation

between academia and practice and the student will graduate

and say: "what course do I do next?

Because I feel I know even less."

I feel in academia you should already build buildings with

the support of your teachers.

These are all my students doing things.

This is in Venice,instead of terracotta.

I'm going to end with this.

This is a project where I am contributing on a city level.

It's called Auroville

International City, Pedestrian City. Designed by Roger Anger

50 years ago, and I've recently been appointed

head of Urban Design and continuing this legacy

All the projects you saw are located here, a barren land

which was converted

like this with people's decentralized action,

but also the idea that a city does not need to deplete.

When humans

appear,

We can create or destroy.

You can create your habitat so this is a project

where I'm working in a collaborative

way on an urban design level for co-housing projects.

And this is what I'm trying to do.

And I would like to end with this image here

to make the point that I think the future

will have to go from competition to collaboration.

If you really want to be more effective and create excellence,

I think that's what we have to be doing.

And the challenge to all architects in the future is how to go vertical

and how to be compact,

But not create towers, which have nothing to do with the things

around them, but create a new version of high density, which is not vertical,

horizontal. Where, through new mobility, you will be able to connect,

the commons and the terraces and all of that and use that.

In the Louisiana Museum I was able to show -I think I have some image of this

in a much bigger scale, blown up- That all these kind of projects,

If you instead of doing it solitary or even inside our co-creation

that takes place in a university or I mean sorry in an office

the whole world at large can actually plug in to projects.

And if you open the doors like we did, students have also contributed

to co-housing projects inside the urban design.

Basically, anybody can contribute if only we let them.

Thank you.