The course questions some assumptions and trends in the current discourse, regulations, and practices aimed at decreasing the environmental impact and the performance of buildings. The tendency towards ever-increasing complexity of technical equipment and specialised layers will be questioned though the theory and practice of passive buildings with simple constructional solutions. The tendency towards high-tech, exotic solutions will be questioned by referring to a theory of a new vernacular, that re-interprets localness and affordability through the lens of

Guest Lecture: Florian Nagler is a full professor at the Technical University of Munich, Chair for Architectural Design and Construction. His research explores the relationship between design and construction and the direct translation of analytical studies into concrete designs. his work revolves around the issue of “simple construction” in an effort to reduce complexity. After training as a carpenter, Prof. Nagler studied architecture at the University of Kaiserslautern. Visiting and acting professorships took him to the University of Wuppertal, the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen and the Hochschule für Technik in Stuttgart. Prof. Nagler is a founding member of the Bundesstiftung Baukultur foundation. Since 2010, he has been a member of the Academy of the Arts, Berlin – Architecture section, and the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts Thermal and sound insulation requirements for buildings have been rising for decades. To comply with these requirements, fancy equipment and specialised layers of ever-increasing complexity have been introduced. Energy savings and comfort have been obtained, but construction and maintenance costs as well as mistakes in planning, design, construction, and operation have been rising. There is a way to obtain sturdy, passive buildings with simple constructional solutions, that not only comply with current regulations but are also much simpler to conceive, to build and to fix. The course addresses current over-complexity showing how the performance of buildings could be optimised by constructional means so that it requires the least amount of layers as well as technical equipment. Traditional buildings are exemplary both in terms of comprehensibility, simplicity (some extreme cases were built making use of a single material) and of low embodied environmental impact. The urgent need to reduce carbon emissions and achieve carbon neutrality in the built environment requires radical changes in the construction industry. The adoption of low-tech and of bio-based building materials is one of such changes, as they are more conducive to diffused, small-scale economies and they serve as ‘carbon sinks’. Other advantages of the latter include biodegradability, renewability, and non-toxicity, as well as contribution to a high-quality indoor environment. There is therefore much to learn from vernacular simplicity. The course discusses a proposal of a new vernacular for the 21st century, rooted in locality and affordable by everyone – as it was the case with ‘traditional’ vernacular – but also able to respond to contemporary priorities such as counteracting climate change by opting for negative-embodied carbon materials, and meeting present expectations of comfort.

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P.D.2-2 - Marzo