We live in a time when, more than any other, the well-being of people and the planet matters. This trend is manifested in various areas: in medicine, in nutrition, in agriculture, in psychotherapies, in education, etc. and, starting, also in architecture.
Architecture is also beginning to want to be part of this consciousness and to design and build in closer contact with the earth and with ourselves.
If we imagine the universe as a series of interconnected phenomena, then each of our actions, even the smallest, has an impact on the rest. Likewise, when we build a building, an interrelationship with the environment and with people arises.
In traditional architecture, a building is designed according to a function, a technology and certain aesthetic principles. The object is inserted into a certain context, sometimes this is taken into account and most of it as something autonomous, without any context.
Quantum physics has shown how destructive the mechanistic worldview and disjointed specializations of modern science are. Looking at individual units in isolation leads us to the fragmentation that exists in all areas of life. On the other hand, if we look at our way of life and the environment in which we live as a global part of the ecosystem, not just humans, but humans together with plants, animals, etc., we will realize that we are part of an entire network. Intertwined from different ecosystems, interactive, interdependent, regenerative and sustainable.
All processes involved are part of an ecological cycle in which the waste from one component becomes raw material for the next; Cycles that are in turn linked to the global cycles of energy, air and water. It is a complex network in which all living things in nature are connected: a change in one part can affect the system everywhere, even from a distance.
Becoming truly aware that we are part of a general ecosystem and that our every action and thought has an impact on the outside world makes us responsible in our actions towards ourselves, towards others and towards the planet.
Ecological architecture
Thinking about deeply ecological architecture means considering the building as a living organism that interacts in a specific ecosystem. For example: a person takes in food and excretes waste, breathes in oxygen and breathes out carbon dioxide.
If we understand architecture as a living organism, we see the following: it needs materials for its construction that create an environmental impact; consumes water and eliminates gray and black water; It sucks in outside air and releases stale air; It requires energy: electricity, gas, coal, firewood and oil and eliminates heat, electromagnetic radiation, noise and pollution.
These are the components of the energy cycle of a house. Our challenge is to assess the impact of each one and design it so that the cycles regulate themselves in harmony with the cycles of nature.
Like integrative medicine, which emphasizes the balance of the whole body rather than curing symptoms, we believe that a building must be part of the same proposal, giving rise to a new architectural vision.
What then is ecological architecture?
It is one that creates a harmonious interrelationship between nature and man.
With nature:
- Integration into the local ecosystem: using local materials and techniques and taking advantage of all favorable climatic and geographical conditions to achieve comfort in a natural way.
- Save energy: Use renewable energy and switch to non-renewable energy when necessary so that less waste is created.
- Recycling the surplus: so that the building closes its cycle, not linearly but circularly (previous introduction of a way of life so that the surpluses are minimal: what is the value of gray water treatment if I consume? , for example a whole range of cleaning products for the modern desire for shine and “cleanliness”).
- Building with materials with low embodied energy: By this we mean a reference value that is assigned to a specific product. This value shows us how much energy is “incorporated” into the extraction, processing, manufacturing and transport process. Industrial societies have created a comprehensive network of channels in which individual processes are independent of each other. This is called development. However, it is an extremely polluting method of production and a huge waste of energy. We are increasingly unaware of the entire process of the finished product we receive at home; we can know little about its quality and the effects of each phase.
Taking into account these four points: integration into the local ecosystem, energy saving, recycling of surplus and energy incorporated into materials, leads us to a profound ecological approach towards nature.
With the man:
The new relationship with people is to see the building not only as a response to a function and a certain aesthetic, but also as a habitat for the health of body and mind.
We are now talking about architecture in a harmonious relationship with people. A structure conceived as a living organism that respects the laws of nature will therefore be a healthy building for humans. The same thing happens when we grow vegetables organically. Not only do we respect the earth, but we also do not poison our bodies with chemicals.
A healthy building is free of toxic elements, flexible and has the necessary resources to respond to attacks and opportunities. Just as a healthy body is disease-free and dynamic, it also has vitality.
Let's take a wall for example: on the one hand it is the border between outside and inside, on the other hand it regulates moisture, evaporation, the passage of heat and cold: it is a living element that “breathes”.
If our second skin is the clothes we cover ourselves with, the walls are the third. And just as we choose natural fabrics and wool without synthetics, by building this third skin from porous natural materials, without synthetic or chemical products, we give our living space a superior quality: a healthy and “lively” climate.
One of the big problems currently in construction is the amount of toxic products used: formaldehydes, adhesives, synthetic paints, insulating foams, plastic materials, vapor barriers are some of them that release fumes harmful to health into the environment. This is exacerbated in airtight buildings due to mechanical air conditioning and increasingly impermeable surfaces and openings. These gases and vapors remain concentrated in the environment and cause long-term illnesses such as allergies and infections in their inhabitants.
Architecture for the mind creates beauty through spaces, shapes, lights, textures, colors, sounds and scents, in close relationship with the people who inhabit the building and the functions they perform to allow them to participate in a worthwhile space let.
Beauty has enormous healing power. Surrounding ourselves with a beautiful environment, in harmony with nature, creates in us a kind of “life-giving” experience, unlike what we can feel in one of the typical anonymous buildings in which most of us are used to living . .
Thinking about our habitat in this way is part of a global proposal to live a life in harmony with the earth and in close relationship with nature, in search of greater personal and planetary health.
When we keep in mind our connection to the earth, to the cycle and to life, we become energized and feel part of everything that surrounds us (Margo Adair).
Architect Mariana Bidart