Architecture is not western

Following on from the previous episode on reconciling modern and traditional architecture, we now turn our attention to contemporary materials. We question the impact of concrete and its actual toxicity. Can we hybridize systems to create a more sustainable architecture?

In this episode, I talk with my guest Justice, about how modern architecture can be combined with traditional building practices. Is it still possible in light of societal changes and especially the rapid growth of the global population? That’s what we’re going to explore.

This episode tackles the flaws of our modern constructions and explains why it’s time to change the way we look at traditional architecture in today’s ecological crisis.

« Buen Vivir » is a concept that comes from Indigenous communities in Latin America. It involves community life and harmony with nature. Today, the concept is under threat, and to discuss it, I welcome a special guest named Maria Belen Zambrano from Ecuador.

Can vernacular architecture be the future of modern cities? This is the question I asked myself and attempted to answer using the example of the city of Shibam. The Yemeni city nicknamed the Manhattan of the Desert, is famous for its mudbrick skyscrapers. An example to follow?

Today, millions of people build their homes without using an architect. There are several reasons for this. The profession of architect is struggling to reinvent itself in a difficult context that leaves little room for free creation and quality construction. This episode is an overview of the challenges involved in practising this profession.

Between the XIXᵉ and early XXᵉ centuries, Afro-Brazilians arrived in West Africa (from Benin to Togo and Nigeria). These were the Aguda. They invented an architectural style that blended the styles and that would forever seal the history of the populations of the African continent and South America.

The standardisation of architecture is an issue that is rarely discussed: the standardisation of global architecture. Today, what is built in London...looks like what is built in Dakar in Senegal.