My now controversial taste in architecture

Sustainability - in a general sense - has become an integral part of the construction world. The transition has begun and will continue for a long time to come. It has to, if we want to do our bit to reduce CO2 emissions and thus global warming. In practice, you see that sustainability in the construction sector in recent years has mainly been driven by the government through tenders and tendering. It has actually become a way for municipalities to distinguish themselves from other municipalities, with Amsterdam in the lead. Sustainability requirements are piling up in tenders and developers and builders are pulling out all the stops to make the most sustainable, green, biodiverse, ecological, nature-inclusive buildings and areas - as requested. Not always from an intrinsic motivation and mostly from the ambition to win, but that doesn't really matter now. Sustainability has become the norm and has actually acquired a "face" in recent years. Especially in competitions, one green urban biotopes and vertical jungles of wood are presented after another. Quite apart from the actual result after completion and the 'time' factor until the green promise can be fulfilled, this trend triggers a sensitive chord in me personally. Is this what the future of material use and architecture will look like?

It has been almost seventeen years since I was an intern walking around the construction site of De Kunstlinie in Almere, a theater designed by SANAA, an amazing Japanese architectural duo. Built almost entirely on the water with a façade of concrete and glass, a supporting structure of concrete and slender solid steel columns with steel walls as much as four centimeters thick for stability. Sublime in its simplicity, pure, clean and almost uncompromising in its finish, a masterpiece if you ask me. But looking back at the project from the perspective of sustainability, you could also label the project as a crime against the environment. For me, it is where my love for architecture was born, particularly concrete and later brick. My love of simplicity in form and richness in materialization and detailing. My love for materials, not necessarily brick or concrete an sich, but especially the versatility in application. The buildings by Rudolf Schwartz and Sigurd Lewerentz are typical examples of this. The different structures of the material, the relief of the surface, the possibilities for tectonics and plasticity. The search for the layering and composition of material, formed into building to live, work or stay in. Truly sublime.

However, my taste in architecture today seems controversial. Sustainability ambitions have lured architects into the trap of greenwashing, especially the desire to make sustainability visible in projects. Wooden facades, planters at height and lots of greenery (I charge). A sustainable appearance (in a render) does not make a sustainable building. Fortunately, we are becoming more critical of such wish lists, but many of those wish lists are already under construction today. Buildings that are still awaiting their fruition after completion. The question remains whether that blooming will ever happen or whether we will be stuck with a permanent waiting facade. Personally, I hope this trend passes quickly and innovations in sustainable materials continue. I once again grant our architects the space and pallet for the search for composition and layering, a new architectural language. But above all, I wish our living environment a rich pallet of buildings, constructed from various materials that are sustainably produced, age beautifully and are circular. Beauty is also sustainability.