ARCH 672 - PROPOSITIONS
FALL 2024PROJECTS
Orli Schwartz - re:focus
Jinyu Li - Invisible Currents
In Praise of Shadows__Designing for Comfort in Times of Heat
Over the past 150 years, the combustion of coal, oil, and gas has continuously released heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere, driving up average global temperatures and setting heat records. Nearly everywhere around the world, heat waves are more frequent and longer lasting than they were 70 years ago. The problem is further exacerbated by increasing industrialization, deforestation, and the removal of natural habitats to make way for new urban developments. This disproportionately affects poorer and marginalized communities, making them more vulnerable to extreme heat. Neither energy-efficient glazing nor LEED certificates will insulate humanity from the effects of the climate crisis; instead, architects must be responsible towards the sites they are asked to build in, imagining new forms of architecture and environmental care that include more-than-human worlds. With the increasing urgency to address the climate emergency, there is a serious need for designers to consider the local climatic context and energy resources for their work and tackle the sources of pollution and damage rather than mitigating their consequences. This requires significant efforts towards re-wilding, afforestation, biodiversity conservation, and environmental stewardship.
In Praise of Shadows seeked to explore the concept of ‘Shadows’ as a crucial element in architectural and urban space making, aiming to create spaces that offer comfort and relief from rising heat. We utilized “Shadows” as a narrative tool to represent environmental performance, as well as atmospheric qualities that addressed more imaginative dimensions of world-making. Passive building systems, productive landscapes, and water infrastructure were of equal interest, along with experience through the senses and aesthetic reception, such as beauty, pleasure, and delight.
The studio conducted research into the historic, cultural, economic and political contexts of landscape, hydrology, wildlife, climate and atmospheres and worked on the design of ‘Shadows’ in various scales from the material scale to urban interventions.