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VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Memento EPFL//
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SUMMARY:POWER OF PLACE
DTSTART:20131206T180000
DTSTAMP:20260502T105957Z
UID:1a295f99933f4eac7436a6eb4c2f90b71f5196747266c5321a5db1f5
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Kengo Kuma\, architect\, Tokyo and Paris\nNatural disasters ha
 ve always directed the course of our civilizations\, but the great disaste
 r of March 11\, 2011 in Japan differed from any other catastrophes since t
 he 1755 Lisbon Earthquake. Nature was desperately forceful as never before
 . However “strong” or “rational” the structures built to contain i
 t were\, the tsunami flattened the Tohoku coastline in seconds. The nuclea
 r accident that followed further revealed the inabilities of “big and st
 rong” architecture. Confronted with radiation\, concrete or steel meant 
 nothing – the irony being that nuclear energy had emerged as part of our
  drive\, since the Lisbon tragedy\, to become bigger\, stronger\, and more
  efficient.\nNow that such a process has collapsed on itself\, we have to 
 start from scratch. Even before 3/11\, I was already fed up with massive c
 oncrete and steel buildings\, and had begun to design a number of small wo
 rks of architecture. You can build these projects on your own\, with nearb
 y materials\, and be totally independent from strong powers – or rather\
 , dependent solely on nature\, and on the power of place. I sense that the
  whole world is now shifting toward small things. We are no longer passive
  creatures spoon-fed from a giant yet unreliable system. Each individual s
 tarts by building a nest for her- or himself\, amassing energy on her or h
 is own and taking advantage of their locality. A new relationship is being
  formed between people and place.
LOCATION:Forum\, Rolex Learning Center http://plan.epfl.ch/?lang=fr&room=f
 orum+rolex
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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