Beyond Contingency. Sustainable Design versus Obsolescence

In recent years inhabited spaces have been becoming obsolete at an increasingly rapid pace. This accelerating obsolescence is mainly due to three factors: changing ways of life, evolving construction techniques and ever-changing aesthetic codes. Those factors reflect each term of the traditional architecture triad, utilitas, firmitas, venustas. Sustainable design is meant to address this issue of swift obsolescence. Yet, it often only addresses one of those factors, firmitas, depicting obsolescence as a mere technological problem trying to solve energy matters. Hence, changing lifestyles or formal expressions are often left aside, disrupting the aforementioned triad equilibrium. Social conventions, construction techniques and aesthetic forms are the reflections of a specific time and cultural environment. As such, they are digested and interpreted by architects. There are several ways to handle their rapid changes. Architects could start anew time and time again, cynically tearing outdated buildings down. Yet, in order to deal with social/technical/formal evolution in a sustainable way, architects could focus on the essentials. Simplicity in this matter is a key. It allows thinking and planning beyond contingency. Design that aims beyond contingency will maximize the potential for its future uses, for technical updates, and for the longevity of its formal expressions. Throughout history, architecture has produced minimal designs that meet these criteria for future adaptability. Traditional housing types for instance, which are subject to constant improvement processes, allow inner variations on a formal, usage or technical level. A number of modernist buildings allow such evolution as well - through their generic, yet generous, design. In this issue, the work of contemporary architects (Office KGDVS, Shigeru Ban, Neutelings Riedijk, etc.) is analyzed in their quest for essentials. A special emphasis is placed on the work of Mauricio Pezo and Sofia von Ellrichshausen. In their housing projects, designing beyond contingency is a promise of future development