From Tangible Extractivism to Associative Architectures

PhD project by Emma Rishøj Holm

New Nature-Sensible Measures for Contemporary Architecture in Denmark.

Extraction site near Gl. Rye, Denmark. Photo: Niels Rysz

This research project offers a considerable expansion to the field of assessing environmental impacts in the construction industry by combining existing technical assessment tools with the tangible, associative, and physical power of architecture.

The preconditions for our basis of life have changed since industrialization, challenging our very existence. We find ourselves in a new form of existentialism – As we exist, we break down our own basis of existence (Latour and Schultz, 2022). However, the discrepancy between the world we live from and the world we live in constitutes a huge pitfall to really understand the consequences of choices made locally.

The global building stock and raw material consumption are set to double with a population nearing 10 billion, demanding a drastic shift in the building sector’s operations (Adams et al., 2019). Denmark, lauded for its sustainability, often overlooks the embedded CO2e in imported goods, constituting a significant half of our emissions (Ritchie and Roser, 2019). Importing goods can lead to carbon leakages and environmental disregard, emphasizing the need to address the disconnection between the Danish building industry and its consequences.

While the radical ‘stop building’ term is an idealistic notion, it prompts essential questions about the necessity and conditions of contemporary construction. Shifting production closer to the point of use presents a massive potential for improvement and envisions an architecture crafted from locally sourced materials that reflect the environment in which we live.

Quantitative methods, such as Life Cycle Assessments (LCA), remain essential for evaluating the impacts of construction materials, but they fall short in providing tangible measures and neglect nuanced considerations of empathy, compassion, and interdependency between humans and non-humans (Fitz et al., 2019). Conversely, the field of architecture holds the potential to convey these nature-sensible aspects. Therefore, the research will involve extraction site visits, interdisciplinary collaborations, visual materials, and physical artifacts, which will come together in two exhibitions focusing on:

1. Existing extraction sites and shortcomings in current evaluation methods, providing tangible embodiments of the building industry’s consequences.
2. Nature-sensible architectures that account for the landscapes influenced by human activities as well as explorations of an aesthetic of associations, linking the architecture with its environment.

The investigations do not necessarily label one approach as good or bad but aim to explore paradoxes and understand why they might be challenging to address in existing practices. The project’s goal is to reanimate Danish contemporary architecture by highlighting overlooked issues and devising new nature-sensible processes that reflect our still-changing notions of nature.

We believe that if the Danish building industry develops ambitiously in this direction, requirements for new building and innovation practices might be ignited. Consequently, a heightened awareness might emerge, extending its impact well beyond Danish borders.