RIBA-J 2021 WRITING COMPETITION
ENTRY
Last year after a few weeks in lockdown parts of the world had begun to heal. While humans were in lockdown once again earth proved it can survive without us, so what happens when we now ‘go back to normal’? Do we forget how the world was struggling to accommodate concentrated pockets of human devastation? These thoughts lead me to write a letter to one of the most carbon heavy building materials, concrete.
WADZANAI CHANEL
Dear Concrete, As the world goes back to normal and building sites are once again working at full capacity, there seems to be a discourse in your use and your need to be used. This is not a letter to discredit the years you have put in and contuinally put in to form creations of wonder, however we have arrived at a cross roads where our need to use you and the earth’s need for us to stop using you are in conflict. You will find in this letter reasons why we must part but first I would like you to know how much I love you. You curve so gracefully at the request of MAD Architects, yet you stand firm cracking only to allow further speculation. Hadid pushed you further than Corbusier could have imagined, she made you graceful managing your public image where the war left scars of brutalism in its wake.
Those that were designing before couldn’t have thought how far you would go as a material and how with each use and each extravagant building you are part of you cost the earth time and balance. Did you know you contain 635KGCO2e/M2 that means with one meter’s worth of material I can fly
RIBAJ WRITING COMPETITION 2021
For years following antiquity you were the go-to, everyone wanted you in their projects because you rose where brick fell short, towering over the past and showing humanity the expanse and sheer latitude you were capable of. You along with Rebar helped develop the social housing scene improving the housing of the working class who were able to work closely to the factories they laboured in. Though these factories may not all be around the housing you were part of remains, sturdy and unchanged which is a testament to your chemical make-up. Your permanence though appreciated was developed to create flee flowing spaces which allowed for flexibility in internal spaces but this is not enough because with a growing population this type of flexibility is not possible permanence has no room in a vast bending Anthropocene. Our buildings must now not only be flexible internally to allow for changes in the future but the materials must also be flexible to accommodate the wants of the future.
back and forth between London Heathrow and Amsterdam Schiphol three times, three! Compared to you anything else is looking better for the air. You harm the soil which grows plants that we humans need to survive. Thus, as the growing renaissance takes precedent it will become difficult to find spaces in the city to grow which will lead more people to disperse to rural country side. I think you know where I am going with this. With the building and construction industries responsible for 39% of carbon emissions worldwide, you must admit it is scary and one of the ways to combat these emissions is for us to reflect on the production use and reuse of materials. Unfortunately this is where in your current state, fell short. Here brick can once again reign supreme as in comparison to you, brick can be broken down and reused with greater ease than you. Frankly you are too heavy to move, you do not have the agility of bamboo and you take a long time to make. I don’t want you to be surprised when you see me with my new material Mycelium, in another life the two of you could have been structural allies. Mycelium is natural so far I know it is a lot better because of its production which means at the end of a building it could be like bamboo and be given back to nature. I know it has not been in projects as grand as yours but with the right management could surpass where we ended. Though more testing needs to take place in order to fully cover your expulsion, the future is already looking to the ground for new ways to build, well old methods, new materials. If you were to judge the timeline of Mycelium and I’s relationship, we are in the talking about marriage stage as projects like Hy-Fi have shown that it is possible to go higher than timber towers, structurally. The project is also a good example of going back to blockwork systems in order to create the curves deeply desired by architects, which soon will become seamless preformed shapes. I hope you now understand why we must part or at least reduce how much contact we have with each other for Earth’s sake. As we head to net zero targets and finally accommodate the planet’s needs rather than local needs. For now you remain the best to lay foundations but the future will disregard your existence so I guess we can enjoy your company for now.
WADZANAI CHANEL
Will we ever curve buildings the way we could with concrete? Maybe but we may have to sacrifice the longevity and expanse and it may take more effort to come up with alternatives, but it is worth investing time and money to make this possible. It might be time to go back in order to move forward, we can use past technologies but we need to go back to the moment before the concrete was a staple in the material swatches of architects and engineers. Once we find a way to eradicate your use, we will ensure that the projects you were part of are held in high regard and retrofitted to allow the next generations to marvel at what you were. Yours sincerely, A Future Architect
RIBAJ WRITING COMPETITION 2021
Ps, you were my favourite
@ALITTLELESSSOUL