Architecture Responding to the Global Context
Architecture is the combination of art and science.
However, since the modernist movement in architecture (early 1900s), building design has been majorly focused on expressing itself as a unique entity, becoming more of an art than architecture. Art is a form of self-expression with absolutely no responsibility to anyone or anything.
Architecture can be a piece of art, but it must be responsible to people and its context. Architecture, before it is an art, must first be conscious of people. It is worthless to explore form and do formal (shape) experiments as architecture without constantly being aware of people’s perception and experience.
A good architecture work is responsible at the very least to its immediate context and inhabitants, it is even more amazing when it is also a piece of art, environmentally responsible and adapts to different aspects of the context, either the physical or non-physical one. Streets, buildings, existing vegetation and land contour are examples for the physical one while non-physical elements include the climate, local culture, political and economic constraints.
It is common to heard about the context mentioned above, but what I would like to discuss here today is the global context, which is the humanitarian crisis.
What is the contemporary architecture today?
“Modernism?”
No, modernism started since 1900s.’
*thinking hard for the answer* “I have no idea about it.”
“It is refugee architecture, also known as humanitarian architecture.”
I remembered about this conversation during my history lecture class few months back. It is always a mistake that people thinks that modernism=contemporary architecture. Contemporary architecture is defined as a range of style of architecture appropriate to the current period.
There are 60 million displaced persons in the world, another stateless child is born every 10 minutes, and three million people have no access to water, food, housing, work, education, and are caught in legal limbo.
“Refugee camps are the cities of tomorrow” quoted by Kilian Kleinschmidt, a humanitarian-aid expert.
“refugee crisis is "a global challenge too big for governments and NGOs alone" and that is when architectural design comes in.
Makoko Floating school is a good example of contemporary humanitarian architecture which adapts to most of its context. Adapting to the unpredictable climate changes (climate context) along the world’s most vulnerable coastal communities, a slum neighbourhood, off the Lagos Lagoon in Lagos, fascinating design solutions that test the resiliency of architecture are produced.
"There is a wistful myth that if only we had enough money to spend—the figure is usually put at a hundred billion dollars—we could wipe out all our slums in ten years" quoted from The Death and Life of Great American Crisis written by Jane Jacobs.
The point of this is the term "myth", it is unreal and impossible, so architect NLE takes the great step by adapting to the existing condition and situation instead of just boasting nowhere that you could change the world or you could get rid of the slum ONE DAY, which is usually NEVER.
Nigeria is receiving an upgrade to its current solution, which is building homes supported on stilts within the lagoon's waters (site context). The school does not only improve the living quality of the community, it becomes a floating community of interlocked and floating residences. (social context)
The Makoko Floating School and the total planned projects makes use of local materials and resources to produce architecture that applies to the needs of people and reflects the culture of the community (cultural context and material selection influence by the context). Lower cost materials such as woods, zinc metal decking and plastic barrels are used due to economic constraint at the area.
Besides, adapting to the political context, makoko floating school design concept is also applied on the construction of individual homes as this largely self-sustaining, self-governing fishing community, was destroyed by the Lagos governments and residents are evicted to seize the property for redevelopment along the waterfront.
In addition, environmental context is considered in this project too where NLE also employed strategies to make the floating architecture sustainable by applying PV cells to the roof and incorporating a rainwater catchment system. The structure is also naturally ventilated and aerated.
Taking some examples which reflects to refugee architecture, where the architecture reflects to the global context (refugee crisis) and this architecture usually has to cope with the economical constraints. Refugee numbers always have a sudden upsurge, after disasters such as tsunami and earthquake. Responding to this situation which need large numbers of immediate temporary housing,
To due with the condition and context where the on-site facility and infrastructure is nil, refugee lacking of all the essential needs, architects collaborate with the local government to solve this situation by implementing refugee architecture where temporary shelter and basic infrastructures are provided to the homeless.
Shigeru Ban, the Japanese architect has been working on a lot humanitarian works and he comes out with the paper log concept refugee architecture. His paper log concept not only applied on the shelter, but also on the communal spaces and educational institution such as the church and school.
Paper Log House - India, 2001
Image above shows Hualin Temporary Elementary School - Chengdu, China, 2008,, responding to Sichuan earthquake in May 2008
Image above shows Cardboard Cathedral - Christchurch, New Zealand, 2013, responding to Christchurch earthquake in February 2011
Besides from using paper log concept, architect Shigeru Ban also uses shipping containers in his refugee architecture
Container Temporary Housing - Onagawa, Miyagi, 2011, responding to the 3.11 earthquake in Japan
To conclude, I will end it with discussion on this quote quoted from the article "excerpts from the radiant city" written by Le Corbusier, "it is our aim, in this rich new era, to create an even greater measure of individual liberty now that modern technology is providing us with new and fabulously powerful means of progress."
Everyone wants individual liberty and of course, it is a creative imagination on how should a ideal city be like, the radiant city for Le Corbusier, but in reality, we should first cope with the global context /refugee crisis which is becoming a serious problem before other aspects are further discussed.
Last but not least, an architecture that respond to its context, could not be placed elsewhere, whereas those architectures that is treated as an object or art could be relocated to anywhere around the world.
