Infraestructure: Architecture, Engineering and Pragmatism

Abstract

Starting from the statements, as comforting as they are false, of our times, the author delves into a description of the needs and resources put into play to feed human progress at the present time. It is an exhaustive and holistic review of the amount of work and energy put into world trade: from the materials that circulate around the planet in containers and large ships, to water as the great resource of the future coveted by all governments. The whole system is still based on three words: production, supply and consumption. This vision, which includes the Achilles Heel of a decarbonization impossible with the current means, offers on the other hand remarkable opportunities for architects as it raises the transformation of the planet and its infrastructures: there is no Art without work, nor without deep connections with the means of production, with the matter and the life of an era. The author ends by turning to his own personal trajectory, re-reading how those early works and their consideration in a cultural key earned him a well-deserved international acclaim.