Architecture for warm-blooded creatures

摘要

With Philippe Rahm, we embark on a very inspiring journey through architectural history from prehistory to the present, illuminated by the prism of climate. His exhibition in the Pavillon de l'Arsenal in Paris illustrates the extent to which architectural forms were not created because of cultural motives, but are instead the result of physical, geographical, climatic and biological conditions. Thirteen vividly and provocatively formulated questions introduce a variety of themes that provoke thought, and the tone is set beginning with the very first one: "Why did our warmblooded nature give birth to architecture?" Rahm's point of departure is that architecture developed solely out of the need to create a consistent climate, which is why we constructed roofs and walls that protect us from heat or cold. He attributes the origin of cities to diet: they were devised and built as granaries to store and defend grain. From the first Sumeri-an temples to the fortified cities of the Renaissance to the vital agricultural hinterland of our cities and its urbanisation in the course of globalisation, which is only possible thanks to the use of fossil fuels (transport and cooling), he presents plausible arguments that also address our cities' capacity for resilience. Particularly enigmatic is the question: "How did peas lead to Gothic cathedrals?" The answer, according to Rahm, lies in the amount of human energy available - which in the Middle Ages, due to improved nutrition brought about by the cultivation of peas, led to the construction of stone buildings that required more power to make than earthen architecture. Matters of hygiene are also addressed: The fear of stagnant air led to the construction of large domes in the Renaissance to disperse miasmas, those poisonous vapours; starting with Palladio, this trend continues from the hospitals of the 17th century to the functionalist buildings of modernism to Francis Kere's school in Burkina Faso. The worldwide cholera epidemic, which began in 1816, triggered the major urban changes of the 19th century. With a quote from Haussmann, Rahm underscores that the streets created in Paris with their underground sewers were only built for hygienic reasons, and not for military purposes. (But didn't Haussmann need to defend his disliked policy of demolition?) Modernist architecture and the use of hydrated lime is also illuminated through the prism of hygiene, and Rahm also establishes a connection to the present by describing how the colour white is used to mitigate the heat zones caused by dark asphalt surfaces. Most recently, energy from petroleum has made it possible to build cities in the desert, and today, due to CO_2 consumption, the architectural discipline is fundamentally called into question. Accordingly, Rahm chronicles a "natural history of architecture", which he seeks to ascribe to "pure facts". His somewhat speculative and exclusive approach may sometimes elicit internal resistance in visitors to the exhibition, but it provokes them to think about our view of history and the future. The exhibition is accompanied by a book, the fruit of his doctoral dissertation, that allows us to delve deeper into his well-documented and thoroughly refreshing argumentation.