Non-Extractive Architecture: On Designing Without Depletion

"Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal were this year’s winners of the Pritzker Architecture Prize . Through their design of private and social housing, cultural and academic institutions, public spaces, and urban developments, Lacaton and Vassal “reexamine sustainability in their reverence for pre-existing structures, conceiving projects by first taking inventory of what already exists”, in the words of the jury. Architecture , and by extension architects, have tremendous influence in defining the way we live, work, and interact individually and collectively. As we’ve discussed elsewhere on Five Books, architecture is in some ways the very social process through which our collective priorities take shape in the built environment. What about the collective priority of environmental consciousness? Construction is on the front lines of climate concern. Buildings today generate nearly forty percent of annual global greenhouse gas emissions. In this book – field guide, manifesto and call to action – the architectural practice Space Caviar invites us to consider what kind of architecture will be born once its primary purpose is serving communities and not capital accumulation? “The first step architects can take towards a more just, harmonious, and non-exploitative designed environment is to redesign themselves, and what the word ‘architect’ stands for.” Another book about architecture that I’ve added to my ‘best art books 2021’ reference library include this thoughtful dialogue between architect and artist, David Adjaye, Adam Pendleton . Get the weekly Five Books newsletter"