In passing, two sites – among so many – among more and more really – exposing thoughts and research about sustainability, circular economy and such …
These topics cannot be ignored anymore and I still observe that most newspapers are
not yet giving them the spotlight they require. Will extractive/abusive capitalism have to
altogether collapse, go broke, dissolve, in order for us all to rush to the task of salvaging
the planet? Please note that this is not the language of collapsology! For sure all
military-industrial-related models will have to disappear but with all the alternative
models in development presently, it is not as if the end of capitalism means the end of
the world!
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2023/oct/05/circular-economysustainable-industry-initiatives-in-europe-in-pictures
https://www.archdaily.com/1007332/innovations-in-cement-and-concrete-that-aremaking-construction-more-sustainable?utm_medium=email&utm_source=ArchDaily%20List&kth=5,861,455&mc_cid=5ba557be13&mc_eid=e6562658fc
Actually, the pressure to conform to the capitalist model is still so powerful that very few of us can hope resisting successfully, even for the shortest time. You know, time is a luxury. ‘BUSY’ is the mode of the world. “Sorry, my schedule is full for the next ten days” is the default posture … Except that there is a fringe which does not equate time with productivity. There are artists who are finding ways to ridicule the whole thing. Case in point: I just finished reading a magnificent book by CRISTINA MORALES: Lectura Facil, in Spanish. LECTURE FACILE, in French. EASY READING, in English. Let me try to summarize: in Barcelona, a bunch of young women, victims of the time-productivity system, have decided to – masterfully – game it. They understand it intimately, in its motivations and in its modes. They reject it in/with their body. They are therefore administratively branded, classified and marginalized as retarded and asocial! Fed, clothed, sheltered, given a regular bit of pocket money – institutionalized, that is – they have enough smarts to think collectively, organize and successfully lead a parallel, solidarity-driven life of dance and sex that few authors have ever described with this much spirit!
Because the reading (lectura) of the book is easy (facil) – to the point where the central
chapter switches to the slapstick/photo-novel mode – I can well imagine its message
spreading and starting a revolution! Literarily, anyhow, it is a revolution, una revolución latina at least!
——
Yesterday I worked on a clapboard for the James Simmons Montessori group which is shooting a video with Daniel, Victoria and Pam. It diverts me from ‘a Tale’ again. But as I keep finding more and more articles about the urgency of tackling climate change, I clearly realize that dreaming – the non-act of dreaming – towards a different future, is a legitimate, urgent and fruitful endeavor. There is a full cohort of architects who have built and are still building their carrier on dreaming and drawing from their dreams. Let’s say: their imaginings. This is where art and architecture meet again and again. We knew it long ago, we forgot it for a time and we remember it again today. I am tempted to call this present trend ARCHITECTURE IN/WITH COMMUNITY!
Why not … It justifies my stubbornness. It keeps the Tale current. Now, in transition, ‘a Tale of Charleston’ is morphing into ‘a Tale for Reparations’. Because there will be no salvation without access and equity.
I much prefer to use the phrase ‘Access and Equity’. Justice or even Social Justice are now worn down because of overuse, abused by bad actors. They have been dehumanized. Where Access and Equity, to me, seem to still have a bit of agency left in them.