The Materiality of Air

The Materiality of Air delves into the urgent and intricate relationship between air, human activity, and architectural design in the context of the pressing climate crisis and environmental degradation. Beginning with a comparative reading of an aeronaut and an acrobat, the lecture unfolds the historical forgetting of air in culture and, consequently, architectural culture to reveal the necessary swift from the figure to the ground.

Central to the lecture is the concept of “Gaia Devices”, which encompass both natural/biological and technological systems designed to assemble the material practice of architecture and Earth Systems. Through detailed analysis of architectural works of Z4A, Beneyetez-Durán will illustrate how domestic spaces can function as “Gaia Devices” by integrating ecological principles and fostering symbiotic relationships between humans and the natural world.

Furthermore, the lecture will emphasize the interconnectedness of scales, from the microscopic interactions within domestic ecosystems to the global consequences of carbon emissions. By reconceptualizing architecture as a powerful tool for environmental stewardship and planetary regeneration, Z4A advocates for a paradigm shift towards holistic design practices that prioritize environmental responsibility.

The audience will be left with the question of whether they will be aeronauts or acrobats in the context of speculative design distilled from the ecologies of the future.

The event is part of the FORM SPACE ENVIRONMENT – Towards New Correalisms Lecture Series at the Institute for Art and Architecture (IKA) in Winter 2024-25, curated by Hannes Stiefel

We build. And we will need to build. And: it can be a responsible pleasure to build – building for desirable futures. We need to find ways to build differently, to accommodate new lifestyles that anticipate and adapt to radically changed conditions, and vice versa, to provoke them. New and other Correalisms are to be developed: constructions and aesthetics that are rooted in the dynamics of continuous interactions between humans and their natural and technological environments. The positions presented in this lecture series test different aspects of such New Correalisms in relation to various building practices.

Further lectures include:

Vinu Daniel / Wallmakers
9 December 2024

Wolfgang Tschapeller
16 December 2024

Barbara Buser / baubüro in situ
20 January 2025 (tbc)