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Alvafamila
Joined: 10 Jun 2004
Posts: 45
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
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 Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2004 2:24 am Post subject: Architecture Politics and sustainability |
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In his book, “Understanding power”, Noam Chomsky, discusses the fact that the only way to save the environment is to take our decentralization environmental committees and wage a economic war against centralized governments that are in power today through means of trying to convince the rich to invest in sustainability.
Is the consensus then that our profession as a whole has to butter up to an elite monetary wealth of the country through a means of profitable advertisements in order to get anything done on the environment? Do architects have to attack the rich and get them to take on sustainability in order for it to trickle down into mainstream America?
It seems in American society today that materialism is running stronger than ever, which is a direct repercussion of marketing of the rich and famous,
i.e., the rich have stuff and look cool, if I have stuff, ill look rich and cool... I call it the “Brittany Spears syndrome”
So my basic question, is Chomsky right? What do we do to change…Education, Communication, Revolution? |
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hannahm
Joined: 15 Jun 2004
Posts: 8
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| Posted: Tue Jun 15, 2004 9:25 am Post subject: Chomsky... |
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How does appealing to the rich "wage war" on the centralized government? 
I know what you mean about the rich "looking cool" with their stuff. They drive the SUV's, and the people who immitate them are becoming more numerous. They copy Hollywood and most other famous people as well.
The general impression I get now is one of an unthinking "money saving" public which does not realize that in the long run it would be cheaper to go the way of quality and sustainability. Everyone seems to be going the way of instant gratification.
If there was a way to make buildings and other sustainable products affordable (thereby appealing to the instant gratification of the general public as well as letting them "do their duty" by what they know is better) without first getting the rich to buy them until the price comes down, many people would be inclined to go that way. I can see some trends toward sustainability now that the gas prices are higher (they are advertising more hybrids).
I think the advocates for sustainability have done a good job of advertising and the general public is becoming more aware of the need for it. Industries are also trying to slowly introduce these products into the market. Buildings will probably be the next mass conversion.
Education/Communication is revolutionizing the industries. Therefore, all of those areas would be working together to create change.
I may have to read that book, it sounds interesting  |
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Alvafamila
Joined: 10 Jun 2004
Posts: 45
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
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| Posted: Tue Jun 15, 2004 4:50 pm Post subject: Here some more |
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There is a real problem with the way architecture defeats itself. The fact that designers in general will put up anything and attach their name to it is ridiculous. It’s a matter of pride isn’t it? The answer to the problem always comes down to the almighty dollar. Who has it, and what Americans will do for it? Power is given in that dollar, and somehow it manifested itself to the public that the more you have the more respected you are. Look at the way advertisement pops into everything from sports to television, news media and even our schools. This is ultimately defeating, there is no living up to the false expectations that the media sells us, not because its unobtainable, only because it’s a false reality, it means and is nothing.
This has laid itself into the architecture world. An example: Look at some of the most popular architects at the moment. Gehry, Koolhaas, Zaha Hadid and on. There work is in fact a social commentary on how the trend of materialism is sweeping the country. They create some of the greatest pieces of art the world has seen in the last century, but its materialism is belatedly and obvious. Koolhass, probably, the greatest social commentator on architecture today thinks that America, since 9/11 is just going the wrong way. He refused to join the competition of new World Trade Center, and gracefully won the competition of CCTV in China. China Central TV, $650 million television broadcast center in Beijing, will open for the 2008 Olympics. About the World Trade Center competition, he said in the speech at Columbia “America was all about looking backward, while the Chinese government was looking forward” Also in the interview when he won the competition of CCTV, he said that after the terrorism, the United States lost former passion. From now onward, he wants to shift the attention to Communism countries. Now he is working in Moscow to do research on the former communism architecture. His intelligence and radical ideas are outstanding in the current scene of architecture.
So where are we going wrong?
The idea that Chomsky is trying to get across and the question I am posting has to deal with what Americans can do to change the state in which we live in? Chomsky uses innovation and logic instead of large sweeping agendas by environmentalist and drastic changed that scare the community. He looks at the trends that are sweeping the country, trends instilled by billion dollar corporations.
So instead of trying to fight the corporations we work with them. Try and show them the profitable ideas that could come from Sustainability. The dilemma lies in a centralized government vs. a decentralized environmental group. Green Peace is no match for any large oil company; they just don’t have the means. Lets face it; the American government system is run by some of the richest most powerful people in the world. When these corporations lobby to subsidized the price of oil or they will cut thousands of jobs, the government is going to do it.
This is what I mean against waging war, (not literally) but intellectually. Im sure most of you have heard of a man named William McDonough. He takes sustainability much further by attacking the rich by showing them the shear amount of money that could be made through sustainability. He works with Nike to make biodegradable shoes, He worked with Ford to build cars that when your done with them your bring it back and get a new one, and he works with clothing and rug manufactures to create bio-friendly clothes that are not made with any chemicals that cause cancer. READ HIS BOOK, it will change your world, really... It’s called, Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things.
So as a simple answer, instead of attacking the monster from the ankles, attack the monster physiologically, right at his brain. |
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