In her book Lo-TEK: Design by Radical Indigenism, Julia Watson proposes to revalue the techniques of construction, production, cultivation and extraction carried out by diverse remote populations who, generation after generation, have managed to keep alive ancestral cultural practices integrated with nature, with a low environmental cost and simple execution. While modern societies try to … Read more
Context, climate, craft and sustainability form the pillars of traditional Indian architecture and provide precedents for new cities and structures. Indian architecture seeks identity through local materials with modern techniques. Deeply meshed with cultural and climatic significance, the following materials continue to build contemporary Indian architecture: Jaali is a local term for “perforated block”, and … Read more
“The new Helderberg Environmental Center is truly a magnificent building and provides the perfect setting for the various environmental education programs the City’s nature reserves offer schools and interest groups. This center provides us with a practical example of what a green City facility can look like. The project as a whole has proved just … Read more
Glacial Lake Lugano in Switzerland’s Italian-speaking canton of Ticino features some grottoes lining its shore. These natural caverns represent authentic Ticino and define the lifestyle of its people. Grotto Descanso is a village tavern housed in a simple stone building with a shaded terrace overlooking the lake. There is a huge wooden door near the … Read more
Archaeologists in southeastern Turkey have unearthed a vast underground city that was built almost 2,000 years ago and could have been home to up to 70,000 people. The subterranean complex may have been a space that early Christians used to escape Roman persecution. The first underground chambers of the ancient complex were found about two … Read more
The manufacture of concrete, steel, and glass uses vast amounts of raw materials and water and emits copious amounts of greenhouse gases per year. A staggering 8% of total global carbon dioxide emissions come from cement manufacture alone. Moreover, embodied carbon, which is carbon released over the entire life cycle of a building, including end-of-life … Read more