# Czabanowski/UrchiTecton, FUTOURISM 21: BALANCED ETHICS & AESTHETICS IN ARCHITECTURE Part 1

# 25 Czabanowski/UrchiTecton, FUTOURISM 21: BALANCED ETHICS & AESTHETICS IN ARCHITECTURE

OUR GLOBAL FUTURE AS INTEGRAL WORLDVISION & -VIEW

[SPACE-TIME-ARCHITECTURTURE-ENVIRONMENT] AS MISSION   SUSTAINABLE SETTLEMENT-IN-DEVELOPMENT [INTRO: Part 1]

How to dwell global citizens on a proper human and healthy way, regarding (co-/re)cycling systems that stimulates vital resilient cities as living urban biotechnotopes for social and co-existential interaction and contribution for resilient (‘sustainstable’*)? FUTOURISM 21 !

?/co Juri Czabanowski- UrchiTecton 2018

photo 1 ?/co: Czabanowski/UrchiTecton, Sustainable co-existential and collective settlement based on human-ecological principles                  Iewan -Project in Vossenpels, Lent-Nijmegen (NL) May 2017

The history of Art and Architecture as cultural education is often about the story of theory and praxis of the exclusive, and more than average, successful projects and (technological) developments as processes-in-progression. But how can and should we build affordable healthy homes for an increased world-population and living standards? How can urban citizens been involved and become interact with nature, being mostly surrounded by artificial buildings and things?

Human-Ecologically Minded Building and Housing [i]                                           Helping case-studies are realized autarc city in the desert Arcosanti[ii] and published like ‘Arcology’ as Neo-Nature by architect and urban visionist Paolo Soleri [Soleri 1969, 1973], Baubiology by dr.med. Hubert Palm [Palm 1965][iii] with help of architect-carpenter Ludvig Schr?der-Speck [Czabanowski 2006][iv] who critisized the influence of health caused by modern building-materials and way of building in Baumethoden und Gesundheit [Schroder-Speck 1948][v], Bau?kologie by Anton Schneider [Schneider 1975], all interested in the Public Health, Bio-engineering & Bio-technology (Life Sciences), Biomimicry Design, Bionic Building by engineer Yuri Lebedew [Lebedew 1983], Bioshelter by Nancy and John Todd and the New Alchemists [Todd and Todd 1981], Biotecture by ‘biotect’ Rudolf Doernach [Doernach 1970, ‘88], ‘Bosco verticale’ as green skyscaper by architect Stefano Boeri [Boeri 2011-’14], Eco-building by architect Per Krusche [Krusche 1982], Eco-design by designer-writer Victor Papanek [Papanek 1985], Eco-engineering by engineer Felix Paturi [Paturi 1973; 1975][vi], Climate-conform building, Ecotecture by artist-philosopher Louis le Roy [Le Roy 1975], Fullereen Domes as shelters, homes and centers [Buckminster Fuller 1954; Grimshaw 2000], Green Architecture by Brenda and Robert Vale [Vale 1991, Wines 2000], Green flats as urban farms [Bailey 1915; Yeang 1992], Urban regeneration [Gehl 1987][vii], Green urbanism by Biotope City [Fassbinder 2000], IBA by architectural theorist and architect Peter Schmid [Schmid 1982-‘86], Naturhuset by pioneer Bengt Warne [Warne 1976], Organic Building architecture following Nature inspired (flow)forms [Gaudí 1906; Wright 1906; Steiner Goetheanum in wood 1923, in concrete 1928], Solar architecture using and integrating passive and active solar energy and daylight [Butti, Perlin 1980], 'Sunspot' using regional pueblo-styled mud in modern ‘jacket’ using passive solar energy [Predock 1965], Vernacular architecture, Virtruvian principles to build well: firmitas-utilitas-venustas [Vitruv 10 AC] and 'Zomes' handmade and selfbuild homes [Baer 1965]. These ways of building are realised (con)structures, prototypes and typologies as tools to interact between the chain nature-culture-technology, interacting systems-attitudes-tools in a proper way.                                          The tendency of the Odyssey of Human mankind tends to be and get settled in urban areas: an urgent need exists to reform existing cities into ‘adult’ cities, becoming more autarc and self-sufficient and efficient [Odum 1993] as co-existential and green resilient cities with multi-functional buildings for multicultural citizens in a multi-complex society of different classes and from multiperspective and multidisciplined views and worldvisions. We live in the World of 'COMPLEXITY of the 'MULTI', the ‘Multicomplexity’ of multiplies, multiplyers and multiplayers in the 21th Century, which multitudes the attitudes like algorhythms into a diversity of Things [Czabanowski 2017]; Multimedia buildings became constructions as multicomplex synthesis of functions-stability-aesthetics-comfort. Are they good examples for SUSTAINABLE SETTLEMENT-IN-DEVELOPMENT in our global(ized) world to stimulate FUTOURISM 21? Illustrative is the way to manifest the image of once corporation-identity late-postmodern, pluriform caleidoscopic style with sustainable elements at the Media Park in Hilversum, Dutch Institute of Pictures and Sound the Dutch center and Villa VPRO by renomated architectural offices: a desire to design iconic buildings for broadcasting television-radio and actual social media. Attention and attraction is trend!

Robert Venturi’s ‘I’m a monument’, quoted as a cynical statement, got a real status to represent oneself: the inherent wish to create icons of fame, pictured in glossy magazins, becoming a rising starchitect. Everywhere are created landmarks, city-marks.                                                                                                                      

?/co: Czabanowski/UrchiTecton, Media Park Hilversum May 2017              ill.2: Neutelings-Riedijk, Ned. Instituut voor Beeld en Geluid                                     

less eye-catching, more spatial concepted is the office of VPRO media-broadcasting ill.3: MVRDV, Entrance and Villa VPRO at right-side, 1998                                

• The media-centers are important fora for mass- and multi-education to broadcast know-ledge in a global(ized) world, but not really examples to settle down on a human and ecological way because of partly hectic need of acting actual public news and info. Being convinced VPRO-[viii] and Human-member at Villa VPRO in May 2017 made the good intentions obvious: cantine with vegetarian/vegan food, common rooms to relax, co-operation with other broadcasting companies BNN, VARA; on flat-roof some assistents regarded a garden of herbs. Proper human and healthy ways of (co)housing regard (co-/re) cycling systems that stimulates vital resilient cities as living urban biotechnotopes for social and co-existential interaction. A good interactive tension stimulates co-operative communities.

Report and research of human-ecologically minded planing-building and housing is one of the key-issues of office UrchiTecton, (Hi)Story of Sustainstable City-Building-Art. Since October 1990 Juri Czabanowski is involved with this kind and mind of architecture concerned and centrated on the integral human health by proper use of building materials and care of vitality of eco-systems to minimalize their destroying, if possible use and integrate existing eco-sytems in new or developing built environment. A revival of former Mens-En Milieuvriendelijke Woon- en Werk (MW2)-projects are spread, formations of building-groups with tendency to build, live together and share ideas and possessions. A new kind of communes, call it community of Commons, to share life as collective respecting the individuality and personal point of view and privacy.

Small human scaled settlements in suburb Small scaled settlements refer to the humna economics of socio-economist Ernst Schumacher and his besrtseller Small is Beautiful [Schumacher 1973]. The researcher observed a continuity of building groups like Planungsgruppe Windkunst from Aachen (Germany) who started in 1982 with Haus-Heyden-Hof (HHH-Projekt) at Kohlscheid-Aachen, next to the Dutch border Kerkrade, where the author is born and grown-up. Three small collective living-communities have been realized here in period 1982-1991: Haus-Heyden-Hof (1985), Alte Windkunst (1987) and Siebenhof (1991) in total 26 houses with 3 'all-husets' (scandinavian for commonhouse) to share common space or reparation, children-care, games and party-room etc. Later these trends became 'fashioned' in the Netherlands. In 2015 the Iewan-Project was realized in Vossepels, Nijmgen-Lent. A mix of human-eco minded (co)housing of Haus-Heyden-Hof (Aachen -NRW), Oko-Siedlung Schafbruhl (Tubingen-BW) and Sieben Linden (Sachsen) in Germany.

Ill.4.1/head-photo article: part of arch. Michiel Post and inhabitants, Iewan-project perspective view on north-west facade (left) of Het Eikpunt-project. Meergeneratie-woonproject (more generation housing-living) and co-sharing collective rooms is realized directly after Iewan-project by architrct Huub van Laarhoven, Piet Witteman of BBC-Collectief in Goirle and selfbuilders of these 3 apartment-blocks around the oak (that's why it is called het Eikpunt, the 'Oak-point').

ill.4.2: southern facade Het Eikpunt  co-housing as ‘more generation’-project (shown is one: southern site with PV-panels) 3 collective rent-appartment and 8 private houses regarding buildingbiology and –ecology and social ecology, designed by architect Huub van Laarhoven and constructed by contractor BBC Goirle in Vossepels and inhabitants, Lent-Nijmegen (NL) in 2015-’16.

A matter of Scales and Sizes

World of Masses to Mega's We lived in the World of the Masses in 1st half of last 20th Century, the Mass of People, Mass of Needs, Mass of Machines, factories and offices (origin from 'Uffizi' in citystate Florence) for Mass of (industrial) Production and Consumption [Pevsner 1948]; in 2nd half we got used to supersizes, theoretical scales of Supermass (XL) like sketches of urban Megastructures [Kurokawa 1950s], a structural Japanese answer for urban metropoles like postwar Tokyo as Le Corbusier’s pure functional modernistic Plan Voisin [Corbusier 1925]. Le Corbusier and Kurokawa planned living-working for 'housing' the Mass and the Mega in high density. Compated living in general is bound to a more need urgency for personal privacy, being close together.

Realization of these constructures was reason to coin our 21st Century as ‘Age of the Mega Transitions’. Realizing to shown serial and automatic production (robots), next to supermarkets of super-productions and –consumption in XXL-size [Koolhaas, Mau 1995][ix]. They coined super- and megastructures, sized proportions that doesn’t fit anymore in exis-ting cities. Later Koolhaas explained why the Tesla-office to produce batteries for e-cars had to be built in desert near Sillicon Valley, because of its size. A quite simple explanation: great super-structures like car-production are always in suburban area. Nearly all production malls disappeared out of the city, especially after introduction of the functional city and its division in sectoral function (functional sections) of living-working-recreation.                                                              

Gentrification- Expulsion                                                                                                  Phenomenon of global communication by the ‘global village’ [McLuhan 1962][x] has been followed by the ‘global city’ with financial networks like NY, London and Tokyo as post- and ultra-modern cosmopolitan city states [Sassen 1991][xi] and ‘mega regions’ [Florida 2007][xii], clusters of (inter)net-working urban areas and urban expulsions [Sassen 2014]. A phenomenon called ‘gentrification’ upgraded urban zones for exclusive social groups, to avoid lower-class. To get engaged creating an egalitarian society mankind would be general upgraded integral approach stimulating (bio)diversity and multiculturality. A restored balance between ethics and aesthetics, duty and beauty will be needed on all fronts: co-existence and co-evolution.

[i] Postdoc research after published Ph.D.-thesis [Czabanowski 2006]; Juri Czabanowski, Humaan-Ecologisch Geori?nteerde Woningbouw, Architectuurhistorische studie 1945-2000 met Aanbevelingen voor duurzame woningbouw: DUWOB+Model en MEMORIE-TOETS, as Bouwstenen 99, TU/e 2006, 358 pages.

[ii] Arcosanti is Soleri’s urban project to realize an autarc city in middle of desert near Cosanti, little place near Phoenix in Arizona. Arched architecture as concrete half-domes have to be shelters for burning sun; start in end of 1960s.  

[iii] Hubert Palm, Das gesunde Haus, das kranke Haus und seine Heilung, unser n?chster Umweltschutz, Konstanz/Augsburg 6. Auflage 1977.

[iv] Juri Czabanowski, Humaan-Ecologische Geori?nteerde Woningbouw, chapter 3 (1945-1973); p. 69 Ludvig und Marie Schr?der-Speck, pioneers of healthy building.

[v] Ludvig und Marie Schr?der-Speck, Baumethoden und Gesundheit, 1948.

[vi] [Paturi 1973]; Felix Paturi, Geniale Ingenieure der Natur, Wodurch Pflanzen technisch überlegen sind, Düsseldorf/Wien 1973; Deventer 1975.

[vii] Jan Geyl, Life between Buildings, New York 1987.

[viii] VPRO: Vrijzinnig Protestantse Radio Omroep founded in 1930; one of most progressive broadcasting institutes /organization in the Netherlands; since 2011 cooperation with humanistic Omroep Human.

[ix] [Koolhaas, Mau 1995]; Rem Koolhaas, Bruce Mau, S, M, L, XL, 1995.

[x] Marshall McLuhan’s coined ‘global village’ being connection by medial networks.

[xi] [Sassen]; Saskia Sassen, Global City: New York, London, Tokyo, New York 1991.

[xii] Quotation of sociologist Richard Florida as on-going phenomenon.