After successful completion of the course, students are able to differentiate between different terms in relation to the climate crisis, know their potentials and limitations and can use the terms consciously. They have the competence to consider concepts in the context of their emergence and to critically analyse their use.
Architecture and spatial planning are an essential part of the human transformation of the earth. They were and are driving forces of the climate emergency. Not only are they directly responsible for the catastrophic CO2 emissions and resource consumption of the building sector, for an enormous amount of soil sealing or the displacement of people, animals and plants from their habitats (to name just a few examples), they also provide the infrastructures of global capitalism, which has been a major cause of this development.
The time for architecture and spatial planning as we know it has run out. We have to act now: Architecture and spatial planning must fundamentally change in the face of the climate crisis and other looming crises. They must become part of, or help shape, a new relationship between humans and the world.
In this course, we will look at concepts that propose very different paths in this context - such as "sustainability", "resilience", "circular economy", "climate justice", "degrowth", or "Anthropocene".
We will discuss with the help of literature and other media,
- in which (temporal/spatial/disciplinary) context the terms emerged,
- in which contexts and with which intentions they are used today and
- where their focus and blind spots lie.
Building upon this, we will explore architectural and spatial planning projects in which the terms sustainable, resilient, etc. have been used. This will give us a feeling for their potentials and limitations.
Finally, we will discuss and condense the results. Here, it is also about an open and creative discussion of the appropriate form for communicating the knowledge gained.
The course is aimed at Master's students of architecture and spatial planning. Students of architecture can have the seminar credited as a free elective.
Background LVA image: Steffen, Will, Wendy Broadgate, Lisa Deutsch, Owen Gaffney, and Cornelia Ludwig. „The Trajectory of the Anthropocene: The Great Acceleration“. The Anthropocene Review 2, Nr. 1 (1 April 2015): 81–98. https://doi.org/10.1177/2053019614564785.
