Annual Symposium 2021: Architectural History + Climate Emergency – 9, 10, 11, 16, 17 et 18 juin 2021

This year’s annual symposium is organized by the Society of Architectural Historians of Great-Britain and held in partnership with Architects Declare, ACAN, Heritage Declares, and the RIAS. Spread across two weeks the Symposium is convened by Prof Alex Bremner, Dr Barnabas Calder, Savia Palate, and Dr Neal Shasore.

Date: 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18 June 2021

Via Zoom. Pour s’inscrire : cliquez ici
Vous recevrez par la suite par mel le lien.

Présentation

The Symposium places the nexus between architecture and energy centre stage in our understanding of the historic built environment, considering how both large-scale energy consumption and socio-political regimes of energy production force us to give greater consideration to architecture’s environmental impact through time.By investigating the relationship between buildings and energy, in conjunction with other factors such as the building industry’s contribution to deforestation, eco-system destruction, and wide-spread pollution connected to primary material procurement, architectural history can reclaim its long-standing place as a central contributor to architectural debate and practice. Much more importantly, considering the history of architecture in this context can make a significant contribution to understanding and addressing the fossil fuel dependency and biodiversity crisis that threatens the continuation of life on Earth.

Programme

Accédez au programme : cliquez ici

Contribution membre UMR AUSser

11 june 2021 : Assessing the 1973 Turn in Architecture: Oil Crisis, Alternative Energies, and the Insulation Boom
Paul Bouet (École nationale supérieure d’architecture Paris-Est, OCS/UMR AUSser) and Jean Souviron (Université Libre de Bruxelles)

Pour s’inscrire à cette intervention : cliquez ici

Résumé de l’intervention : Until recently, the historiography of postwar architecture was dominated by milestones such as 1968 with its wave of cultural protests, or 1980 with the triumph of postmodernism at the Venice Biennale. With the current rise of environmental concerns, historians are also turning their attention to 1973, marked by the first oil crisis and often considered an ecological turn for architecture. But what did this moment really represent in the history of the relationships between architecture, energy and the environment? How did it affect architecture materially?

In this paper, we assess the 1973 moment by determining its implications for architecture and by analysing its lesser-known but lasting consequences for construction. First, we discuss how the tensions over oil combined with the emergence of environmentalism yielded a conception of the building sector as a key field in the reduction of fossil fuel use. Then, we examine how the rise of research into the integration of renewable energies in buildings, particularly solar energy, shaped an alternative path towards an architecture less dependent on oil, coal or uranium. Finally, we analyse how the thermal regulations introduced in the aftermath of the oil crisis generated a boom in the consumption of insulation products alongside electricity to operate HVAC systems. Drawing on case studies in Western Europe, connected to examples in Africa and North America, we argue that while 1973 fostered a temporary interest in reducing the ecological impact of architecture, its material consequences may have contributed to an increase in the environmental footprint of buildings.

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