While the windmills of yesteryear have been replaced with more sophisticated technologies, bicycles remain the primary means of transportation for many. For this and other reasons, in 2020, per capita annual energy consumption in the Netherlands was a quarter of that for Canadians. (3.37 vs 13.67 exajoules).
Ten years ago, I was invited to participate in a Dutch government sponsored Mediatour of sustainability initiatives around the Netherlands. During our tour we visited Rotterdam, a city with much in common with Vancouver. There we attended the 5th International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam (IABR). The first biennale was held in 2001 with the conviction that architecture and urbanism are of public importance since they shape how we live. The 5th edition addressed how best to make the city of tomorrow. Some of the ideas I discovered are set out in this 2012 blogpost: http://gellersworldtravel.blogspot.com/2012/04/just-few-ideas-from-international.html
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| Just some of the things we need to stop doing. |
Two weeks ago, I returned to Rotterdam to attend the 10th biennale. IT'S ABOUT TIME. As stated in the program, it "presents a plea for radical, systemic transitions of our built environment."
Fifty years ago in 1972, the Club of Rome published its ground-breaking report The Limits to Growth which outlined the possible consequences of an exponential increase in population, industrial and agricultural production, extraction of raw materials, and pollution. Around the same time, the first UN environmental conference took place. Both resulted in limited new public actions, initiatives, and policy proposals. But they spawned films, television series and comic books offering a prophetic view of the future.
One of these films Soylent Green, takes place in a dystopian 2022 New York City impacted by the cumulative effects of overpopulation, pollution, and climate catastrophe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soylent_Green. (I am tempted to watch it again to see how sadly accurate it might be.)
While the Club of Rome report and UN conference resulted in a new environmental awareness, they also caused worldwide controversy. Consequently, too many of the warnings were not acted upon and today the world is suffering many of the forecasted consequences.
This year's 10th Architecture Biennale is being held in The Ferro, an abandoned former gas storage facility near the waterfront - 'a ruin of the fossil economy'. It offers an audio-visual timeline highlighting key events that have occurred over the past 50 years since the Limits to Growth report was published.
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| If you do attend the biennale, make sure to take in a tour by one of the curators. This clever lady was responsible for the Timeline exhibition. |
These include Margaret Thatcher's inspiring speech to the 1989 UN General Assembly during which she clearly set out the growing threats to the global environment and how we must resolve them before it's too late. It's a surprising speech coming from Margaret Thatcher, and well worth listening to or reading. https://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/107817
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| Even before the Club of Rome report, Greenpeace was urging the world to start addressing climate change. This display includes an original Greenpeace poster. No doubt some of you still have one too. |
Other displays illustrate how, even before the 1970s, pioneering architectural designs had been projecting how we could enjoy a more sustainable future. They included experiments in renewable materials, solar energy systems, geodesic domes, and communal ways of living. However, continued economic growth and globalization, including colonial exploitation, were too often seen as the way to go forward, while assuming technological innovations would be the solution to most problems.
As noted in the exhibition handout, the timeline highlights "the interplay between growing environmental awareness and design experimentation on the one hand, and skepticism and short-termism on the other."
The biennale also presents the work of designers, architects, researchers, artists, and others exploring how we must work together towards a more ecologically healthy and equitable world. It contemplates three alternative approaches: those wanting to be effective in the short term, labelled the Activists; those choosing to focus on the mid-term, labelled the Accelerators; and those believing it's more important to take actions now that will have long-term results, labelled Ancestors.
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| The clock is ticking... |
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| A model of an urban planning approach by one of Netherland's top architectural firms MVRDV illustrating how we should be planning our cities with greater consideration to sunlight and shadowing. |
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| This hourglass is a commissioned piece of sculpture to draw attention to just how much demolition waste we are creating in our cities. |
In an area known as the 'Transition Arena' a variety of displays demonstrate how we can design a world that uses reduced amounts of land, energy, and resources. It explores how construction can be truly regenerative, circular, equitable, and sustainable, with less demolition and waste. Participants are invited to imagine an architecture of change. After all, it's about time.
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| This display illustrates 199 patents taken out over the decades to help create a more sustainable future. |
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In addition to the main exhibit, a secondary exhibition features projects by architects and designers from around the world. While many are modest, some are very inspiring.
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| A display highlighting the opportunities for 'gentle densification' of single family lots. |
The Biennale continues until November 13, 2022. For more details go to https://www.iabr.nl/ If you haven't been to Rotterdam recently the biennale is a wonderful excuse to visit one of the world's most creative cities.
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