SUMMER SCHOOL

Ljetna škola arhitekture u Grožnjanu

Autor/izvor: DAZ 10/07/2023

Voditelji ovogodišnje ljetne škole su svjetski poznati arhitekti TAKAHARU i YUI TEZUKA, kojima će se pridružiti i drugi gosti iz Slovenije i Hrvatske. 

Tema radionice je FINDING KRONOS, a više o temi saznajte u tekstu Takaharua Tezuke koji donosimo u nastavku.

Više o prijavama i Grožnjanskoj ljetnoj školi arhitekture na linku

http://www.arch-groznjan.com/

FINDING KRONOS - WHAT CAN WE LEAVE FOR THE 22ND CENTURY?

I want you to design the oldest architecture for the 22nd century. There are many divinations about oldness, but unlike trees or fossils there is no scientific way to specify the age. The age of architecture is too young for radiocarbon dating. There are only stories written by human beings. History is not a science but a memorandum. Memorandum is nothing more than data. It's nothing more than a result. What we want to discuss is not about the past but about the future.

There used to be the time when the building material was used to specify the age of architecture, but there are world heritage buildings composed of new materials mostly because of the restoration process. As long as it meets modern needs, it is necessary to replace some materials. There are many timber heritage architectures older than millennium in Japan, but most of the materials have been replaced through the years. There are always discussions about how much percentage of the building material needs to be original. The discussion is not going to be able to find the reason why people think the building is old.

People admire old architecture and cities. People travel to the other side of the planet to experience old cities. The travelers appreciate thick stone walls corroded by weather. The corrosion is called not defective but taste. People try to find authenticity to make sure it's not a fake. People can't easily be tricked by a fake. The past became a story, yet they don’t truly know how the town used to be. The city walls were made for their survival. There was no sentimental reason. Ruin is not architecture. A ruin is nothing more than a remnant of life. Ruin used to be architecture but not anymore. Architecture is not a thing but an event.

The function of architecture changes from time to time. There are many castles, houses converted to hotels. These changes are easier to imagine, because both contain dwellings. Yet there are building types far from original usage. There are churches used as Bars. There is no more sacredness required. Most of the time, it is more expensive to convert old buildings than building new ones.

What makes an architecture to last long? The longevity has nothing to do with the durability of the material. Mostly old architecture is fragile and needs to be taken care of. Inclination of wall and floor by aging is sometimes appreciated to ensure the authenticity. Functionality has nothing to do with the life span. Old architecture is usually inefficient compared to modern architecture. 

Nothing was old at the beginning of its existence. St. Paul in London used to be the most avant-garde and technologically advanced modern building. If the architecture was built as old, the one wouldn't last long. What makes a city old? No architect knows how long the architecture lasts in the long term, when they build the architecture. Only Kronos knows which one is going to last long. How can we cheat time? How we architects can evade the crows of the Kronos.

Maybe the answer doesn't exist in the architecture itself nor the materials. What you think is old is not old at all. There are more than ten times our body cells. What we call humans is nothing more than an administrator for the immune system to balance countless lifeforms. You are not the same person as last year. None of the people around you are the same as last month. Most of the body materials are replaced every four months. It is possible that you are seeing only illusions. The water of a river is not the same as a second ago. The ground cover of mountains gets replaced and the shape of the angulation gets deformed by rain and wind. There is nothing permanent.