Down to Earth - by George Brugmans (Paperback)

About the Book

"Without reservations, DOWN TO EARTH starts from the observation that the climate crisis is a given, and that we are already in over our heads. Can we then still redesign our living environment to ensure a sustainable balance, also with all other life forms? George Brugmans chose energy transition and water management as levers for design research aimed at transformational real-world change. Drought in the Dutch Delta, rising sea levels, the need to stop using natural gas in our homes - these are issues for which we urgently must find solutions that can simultaneously be used as leverage for broader change. Brugmans anchors this research methodologically in the history of the IABR, which in the past years has explored how, as a cultural institution, it could design for results in times of climate crisis. DOWN TO EARTH is a visually rich account of an antitypical biennale in times of pandemic, and also - with essays by George Brugmans and Dirk Sijmons and a dialogue between lecturers and students of the Rotterdam Academy of Architecture and Urban Design - a critical reflection on the position of designers at a time when the anthropogenic climate crisis is forcing humanity into the endgame."--Publisher information.

Book Synopsis

A critical reflection on urban and landscape design in the era of climate crisis

Published on the occasion of the International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam (IABR), Down to Earth takes the climate crisis as a given and that we are already in over our heads. But it eschews despondency, vigorously pursuing engineering and design interventions. Dutch author George Brugmans, executive director of the IABR since 2014, shares his in-depth research of key climate crisis-fighting tactics such as energy transition and water management, and interrogates examples such as the drought in the Dutch Delta, rising sea levels and gas stoves. Throughout, Brugmans interweaves the history of the IABR and its commitment as a cultural institution to eco-conscious design. In addition to Brugmans' texts, the volume also includes essays by landscape architect Dirk Sijmons and a dialogue between the lecturers and students of the Rotterdam Academy of Architecture and Urban Design.