Anthropocene, organic architecture, sustainable design, Frank Lloyd Wright, House on the Cascade, garden fig, ecological crisis, natural materials, local resources, carbon footprint
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Abstract
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Abstract
The Anthropocene era has led to a shift in architectural paradigms, valuing organic and natural materials, as seen in Frank Lloyd Wright's House on the Cascade and the garden fig.
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[...] The crisis of the Anthropocene era thus leads to thinking about an architecture that is compatible with nature and human existence. Question The garden fig is an architectural work, which regains value in a period where carbon construction using polluting materials is strongly criticized, that of the Anthropocene. Invented by architect Guillaume de Salvert in the 2020s, the garden fig constitutes a hut made from a collection architecture valuing local resources. It is a lightweight habitat, duplicable in different environments, but which adapts to each environment during construction. [...]
[...] In fact, within the framework of organic design projects, formulated by architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright, the goal is to retranscribe the idea of nature through its ambiance, its effects and its materials1. The fact of using natural materials such as fire, water, air or earth as in the work of Frank Lloyd Wright titled the House on the Cascade (1935), shows the architect's intention to be faithful to the laws of nature. Frank Lloyd Wright, « House on the Cascade (exterior and interior - living room with fireplace), Pennsylvania, 1935-1939 In fact, in this type of project, architecture is similar to an organism where each part, like organs, has a function with each other2 and is capable of evolving without the architect intervening after the construction of it. [...]
[...] Since it is necessary for each unit to source locally the materials that make it up. This fig is approximately 5 meters in diameter and up to 6 or 7 meters high, allowing a mezzanine to be formed, for a habitable surface area of 30 square meters.5. This habitat is quite exemplary in ecological terms and in terms of carbon footprint: low cost of material transport because sourced locally, degradation of the structure in the medium term allowing nomadism of its inhabitants without leaving a significant carbon footprint. [...]
[...] This is a definition that was proposed by two scientists, Stober and a Nobel Prize in chemistry, in 2000. The Anthropocene thus designates an era that has valued architecture since the beginning of the industrial era in the 19th century and after the end of World War II thanks to urbanization, carbonated and mineral constructions within cities, in particular. For some architects, this increase in carbonated constructions during these two periods marks a frenzy of construction, which has sometimes been made in excess within cities.4. [...]
