Towards an Ecology of Tectonics

The global resources situation and the climate crisis
are amongst the biggest challenges faced by
mankind today. In the years to come, these issues
will no doubt have an influence on societal evolution,
on urban and rural land development, and
how we define our cultural identities. These and
related issues will be reflected in the world of architecture.
In recent years many countries with high
energy consumption have made the energy-related
requirements for buildings more stringent; the
new rules apply to the resources used for construction
as well as to those used in the operation
of buildings. In the future, these new requirements
will have a major impact on the design of buildings.
It will not be sufficient merely to increase the insulation
thickness or to make the building envelope
more airtight. Solutions of this type have an adverse
impact on the architectural design, on the
construction practices, on the indoor environment
and on options for making buildings flexible so that
they can be adapted for diverse uses over time.
Equally important in terms of its impact on architectural
quality is the challenge posed by the continuous
growth of industrialisation. The move from
craft-based construction methods to computercontrolled
production processes now used in industrialised
manufacturing has resulted in strict
standards, established at design level, being imposed
on the process as it takes place on the
building site, creating an 'assembly architecture'
that no longer depends on the locally available
materials, on local cultural traditions or on the
specific physical context.
In this book, ideas, design principles and practices
that relate to tectonics in architecture are explored,
and a series of themes are discussed in relation
to various concepts of ecology. Ecology is,
in this case, defined in its widest sense, which includes
the cycling of resources, systems of social
organisation and the environmental context. Tectonics
- a concept with a long tradition in architecture
and architectural theory - is comparable to
ecology. It relates to the design and assembly of
structural elements, and implies a holistic approach
to materials, to construction technology and to
the design of structures. It is more than merely an
instrumental strategy: it extends into the poetic,
which elevates it to the status of a cultural practice.
This book is part of a research project conducted
by leading academics associated with the Royal
Danish Academy of Fine Arts School of Architecture,
the Aarhus School of Architecture and the
Danish Building Research Institute. With a collection
of 13 essays by academic experts and practicing
architects the book provides the first comprehensive
representation of contemporary tectonic
thought and practices in architecture.