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Can we use architecture as the tool to eliminate waste; of space and other resources?
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Resources- water, air, trees, fruit, dirt, animals, etc; are based on the areas around them, both in terms of physical boundary, as well as mathematical measured unit of volume. These units could be seen to extend from the core of our planet to the outer rim of our atmosphere, and depending on how one divvies up the mass of the earth and the skies, there could be one thousand of these units, or 20 billion, in stacks, rows, and columns. If we conserve these units of volume, allowing for fewer to be used, we could reduce the effects on resources in the units stacked above or below, neighboring or otherwise associated with the primary unit, even from across the globe based upon trade.
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The recycling of a building is a strong move towards maintaining levels of use. If we were to continue recycling buildings and their lots, while simultaneously increasing our efficiencies with each generation of use, we would be able to maintain the existing levels of human life while decreasing our waste. The fact of the matter is, the human population continues to grow as it is, and inefficiencies continue, there will be an exponential growth of consumption, and there can be no maintenance. Thus, we need an exponential reduction of consumption, such that, in calculation, each new human life increases our efficiency and decreases our use. We could go the freaky-dystopian route of battery-human-pods a la the Matrix, recycling bodies for food a la Soylent Green, or vaporizing people into pure energy for our machines a la Logan’s Run…but I think Human Right’s Watch and Amnesty would have quite a fit. Instead, we should think in another view – an increase of people decreases other uses, because each person takes a fraction of what they do now – and by that I mean a real, meaningful fraction, like 1/100, not ¾. And that is in terms of impact, meaning our consumption of raw materials is lessened, and thus movement of materials is lessened, and the allocation of land to each person is lessened, and new construction costs are lessened. Creating a unit of structure that maximizes our use of the land allotted to us, which would be calculated based upon a sustainable ecological footprint, using a basic frame system of a near universally abundant, and universally viable materials, with local materials filling out the rest. This frame is either composed of smaller, flexible modules, or is one in and of itself, such as it can be retroactively applied to existing structures, and redefine living spaces.
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