THEY CALL US THE TECHNOLOGY GENERATION, BUT WE WILL BE THE TRASH GENERATION
The industrial era started a disastrous path
towards a swamp of leftovers, as a result
of violent and excessive consumerism. This path
does not even lead us towards the abyss.
It is a path to nowhere and we will remain here.
Witnessing how the forces of nature,
disrupted from their perfect natural cycle,
overwhelm us. We are the exception
to an otherwise harmonious loop.
THEY CALL US THE TECHNOLOGY GENERATION, BUT WE WILL BE THE TRASH GENERATION
The industrial era has left many witnesses
in its way. Structures and artefacts of an eerie
beauty which, once abandoned, embody a
peculiar attitude. Those ones attract us as if
we were insects flying to the light of their past.
There lies the hidden beauty behind such defeats.
It is within this beauty where we have to find
shelter and it is within the still-beating heart
of the failed remains of the past
that we must be reborn.
The following manifesto
gathers the attitudes that will allow us to deal
with the depression that will be caused
by social change.
The following manifesto
wants to make a change
by intervening in the ubiquitous
post-industrial ruins
of our cities:
THE BEAUTY OF DEFEAT:
A manifesto for post-industrial ruins
Having said this, our aim should not be to
promote an attitude of disrespect towards the
past or the industrial heritage we leave in our
wake. The attitudes here expressed are not
presented as the only option and even less as
the only way to approach the issue, but
perhaps as the end of a spectrum of
possibilities that might lead us a to a better
place. A place where the magic and hope that
the architecture of our time can offer are
rediscovered.
I
OPEN THE RUINS. MATERIALIZE
THE RUPTURE
III
A WILD, ALMOST DESTRUCTIVE
NATURE
LANDSCAPES
THE TESTIMONY
OF SCARS
VI
WHEN SCRAPYARDS BECOME OUR
QUARRIES AND LANDFILLS OUR FORESTS
VII
THE LEAST SOPHISTICATED ASPECT OF THE SOLUTION
(HONOUR NATURE)
FOR THE PEOPLE
FOR HOMO LUDENS
AS (IF YOU WERE) NATURE
e should bear in mind that society seeks and demands solutions.
Some are not easy and must go down the winding road of scientific discovery.
For other solutions, what is required is to reach people’s hearts again.
Society yearns to be excited about our future.
Society’s collective imagination cannot not be
disappointed by architects.
We do not need science fiction to create
spaces overflowing with magic and feelings.
We only need to rely on the natural
phenomena surrounding us and introduce
them to our homes and living spaces,
understand them, play with them
and fall in love with them
.
We need more excitement in the day-to-day
life of our cities! Architecture is a crucial tool
to bring light to our daily existence and, most
importantly, it has become the permanent
environment that surrounds us.
When we think of landscapes we include,
naturally, their flora and fauna. The living
beings we call animals are a crucial
component of their environment, a key part of it.
What about us?
What is our environment?
What is the human environment?
What is society’s environment?
Have we lost our bearings and forgot what
our environment should be?
To those who think that houses, towns and
sprawling super cities are the environments
of our species:
are they really satisfied with them?
The cities we know can be fantastic places,
there is absolutely no doubt about that,
but they leave a lot to be desired
when we consider them
as the environment
for our
species.
We should no longer regard architecture as
buildings designed to protect us and isolate
us from our natural medium.
The aim is not to create architecture.
The aim is to shape
the environment best suited to us,
to our species,
to human beings.
Be a child of your time.
MAKE ARCHITECTURE
AS IF YOU HAD NOT
FORGOTTEN THAT
Y O U A R E
NATURE.