«Missions in Architecture» - Series of laboratory-talks

The Aedes Architecture Forum and the Royal Embassy of the Netherlands in Berlin will present a series of laboratory-talks called «Missions in Architecture». In these laboratory-talks given by renowned speakers from the Netherlands and Germany, the speakers will generate revolutionary future scenarios as to the multidimensionality of architecture – in order to highlight the missions in architecture.

GREEN RECIPROCITY – Green Interactions Between City And Landscape

Venue: Aedes am Pfefferberg, Christinenstraße 18-19, 10119 Berlin

Date: Thursday, February 5th, 2009, 7 pm

Laboratory-Talk curated by Ton Venhoeven, VenhoevenCS, Government Advisor on Infrastructure, Amsterdam, with: Tracy Metz, Journalist (NRC Handelsblad) and Writer, Amsterdam Ton Venhoeven, VenhoevenCS Architects, Government Advisor on Infrastructure, Amsterdam Duzan Doepel, Architect, DSA Doepel Strijkers Architects, Rotterdam Andreas Kipar, Landscape Architect BDLA/AIAPP

Moderation: Kai Vöckler, Publicist, Berlin
Welcome: Kristin Feireiss, Aedes Berlin and Ferdinand Dorsman, Counsellor for Press and Culture, The Royal Embassy of the Netherlands in Berlin.


GREEN RECIPROCITY – Green Interactions Of City And Landscape:

Issues of sustainability and saving energy have rapidly gained in significance in public discourse since the dramatic worsening of our planet's ecological situation. Environmental responsibilities of (landscape-) architects are complex as is the search for strategies for a green perspective. Sustainable mobility, energy-saving technology and design, multimodal zero emission strategies, self sufficiency in food and energy-production, and green city and landscape networks: What will a green future look like? And, more specifically: what can architecture contribute to it?

The first wave of sustainability focussed on making beautiful buildings and nice urban spaces. The second focussed on buildings. They should become energy efficient and be made out of recyclable or eco friendly materials. Nobody was seriously talking about cityplanning or infrastructure. Now, we are at the start of the third wave of sustainability. This wave focusses on all relevant aspects of global warming and other environmental threats. It includes design technology of cars, cities, infrastructure, economy, culture and politics; in short, practically everything.

The development of sustainable design strategies is going very rapidly nowadays. We see eco-friendly city designs, we hear governments talking on reducing CO2 emissions and there are even pedestrian based, emission free city designs that are going to be realised. Also, the development of solar, wind and other sustainable technologies accelerates tremendously. At the same time, new powerplants are built everywhere, many of them even use coal based technology. Especially in China and India, CO2 production increases at incredible rates. So, we are in a hurry, looking for strategies that are very cost effective and that work within a short period of time.

The focus will be on the development of decentralised energy production, because it can be implemented all over the world, and become popular as rapidly as the mobile phone. The idea is simple and with available means achievable and economically affordable. Within a couple of years, every building or neighborhood can produce its own energy, every city can produce its own food. It will be a lot cheaper too. With the electric energy produced by homes and other buildings, electrical cars can drive for about 5 Euro per 300 kilometer. Very fast electrical sportscars are on the road already. With ultra noise absorbing asphalt, (-15 DB in Japan) and noise reducing tires (- 4 DB), living next to infrastructure and growing food becomes attractive and healthy again.

Energy companies become obsolete, powernetworks become exchange networks like internet.The first houses based on the principle of decentralized energy production are already built, Bangladesh is developing this decentralised energy concept, financed with micro credits, as a cheap national energy strategy. So why wait, why doubt?

Please register for this talk under: vy@aedes-arc.de

The series of laboratory-talks is a cooperation with the Royal Embassy of the Netherlands in Berlin and is supported by the Stimuleringsfonds voor Architectuur, brandeins and minimum einrichten as well as by the Aedes cooperation partners Zumtobel, ArcelorMittal, Busch-Jaeger Elektro GmbH, carpetconcept and AXOR hansgrohe.