Architecture has always to deal with limits: spatial, temporal, economic, financial, social, technological, resource, knowledge and further more. The urban dwelling moves between the boundaries of the center and the periphery, vacuum and density, mobility and accessibility, private and public. Architecture produces and feeds from limits, facing sometimes extreme conditions. Paradoxically, while the large cities rise the highest towers pushing the limits of technology and architecture, the situation of the social and urban fabric in the peripheries features another war, to the limits of dignity, rights, environmental, social and cultural sustainability: the limits of technologies, in reverse –with few resources, get the most. Facing this scenario, it is necessary to rethink our professional discipline: What might be the conceptual tools and techniques to address conditions with limited resources: limits of technology and geographic boundary, in urban peripheries of cities like Barcelona or Port au Prince?
From the 15th to the 18th of June, the participants of the International Workshop held in Barcelona: Architecture to the limit, reconstructing the peripheries, will study and analyse systems, processes and technology for architectural and urban solutions in extreme contexts, through sustainable creative design and collaborative work. The purpose of this meeting, which consists of a full program of lectures, roundtables and workshops, with the participation and support of the ESARQ/UIC School and the Master of International Cooperation Sustainable Emergency Architecture among others, is to highlight the creativity and ingenuity use of ‘Low Tech’ tools, emphasizing the potential of traditional techniques and bioconstruction. These resources can be very useful in facing architecture and urban planning challenges deriving from natural disasters (earthquakes, floods, droughts, typhoons, …), from social issues in areas with few resources (refugee camps, conflict zones, …) and from the exponential growth of cities and metropolitan areas.
Registration is now open, and places are limited.