Material Cultures
Material Cultures

Materials in Motion: Extraction, 2023

▣ TYPE: Film
⧆ SUPPORTED BY: Built by Nature
▤ RUNNING TIME: 6m 51s
⧇ COLLABORATORS: Ella Frost / Mhamad Safa / Kate Handford / Amica Dall / The Building Centre Team

 

The contemporary construction industry is entirely dependent on an abundance of cheap oil fuels, not only to produce the materials we use, but also the machines that extract the raw materials, and the lorries, ships and railways that transport them. Most contemporary buildings are directly dependent on fossil fuel products, from polyurethane and polystyrene insulation, PVC membranes and composite panelling to plastic ground sheets and sticky tape.

Architecture must balance the needs of the land with the needs of construction, developing infrastructures, technologies, and materials that can bring the two back into carefully managed interdependence. To achieve these, more equitable approaches to the distribution and use of land must be developed, that consider the needs of a community, the lives of people working the land, and the structure of regional economies together.

 

Materials in Motion: Extraction, 2023

▣ TYPE: Film
⧆ SUPPORTED BY: Built by Nature
▤ RUNNING TIME: 6m 51s
⧇ COLLABORATORS: Ella Frost / Mhamad Safa / Kate Handford / Amica Dall / The Building Centre Team

 

The contemporary construction industry is entirely dependent on an abundance of cheap oil fuels, not only to produce the materials we use, but also the machines that extract the raw materials, and the lorries, ships and railways that transport them. Most contemporary buildings are directly dependent on fossil fuel products, from polyurethane and polystyrene insulation, PVC membranes and composite panelling to plastic ground sheets and sticky tape.

Architecture must balance the needs of the land with the needs of construction, developing infrastructures, technologies, and materials that can bring the two back into carefully managed interdependence. To achieve these, more equitable approaches to the distribution and use of land must be developed, that consider the needs of a community, the lives of people working the land, and the structure of regional economies together.