1/2 – 2023

Terrain

The present issue engages in a balancing act, as it were. In addressing the climate crisis nowhere else than on and in the ground is the gap between aspiration and reality quite so wide. Actually, if we are determined to build, we should do this in the way traditionally practiced in Japan, i.e., without really touching the ground at all, or if so, then only in a minimally invasive way. This may sound inviting but it borders on window-dressing, given that throughout Switzerland regulations regarding car parking spaces still determine the amount of excavation and concrete. And consequently, to a significant extent, the amount of embodied energy. Unfortunately, there is little of substance that architects can contribute to this kind of automatism, except perhaps to influence their clients to accept a mobility concept to reduce parking space. So, is all that remains the call for a good métier? For a satisfactory solution for the building plinth, which, if possible, minimises the impact of the new building on the surrounding landscape. And indeed, there is much that can be achieved here — from the intelligent embedding of a building to a more ecological view of the resource ground, to knowledge about reparation, if not improvements, to flora and fauna. If such an approach were to find widespread acceptance in design theory and applied in practice much would be achieved.