Young architects are rejecting "cookie-cutter modernism" in favour of approaches that prioritise conserving the earth's resources according to Joseph Grima, who has written a manifesto calling for a new type of non-extractive architecture.
Space Caviar co-founder Grima argued that architects increasingly see the discipline as a "form of stewardship of the natural environment" rather than a compositional exercise, as they become aware of the damage that construction is doing to the planet.
"There is a different attitude emerging, which is not based on the kinds of pre-conditions that might have been 100 years ago," said Grima, saying that modernism's "top-down" approach is increasingly being challenged. "A lot of practices, especially the younger practices, and a lot of the discourse that is circulating at the moment, is very attuned to a philosophy that is not particularly formalist."
Non-Extractive Architecture is an exhibition and written manifesto that calls on architects to use non-exploitive methods of production
Grima made the comments during a live Dezeen talk to mark the launch of Non-Extractive Architecture, an exhibition and research programme at the V-A-C cultural institution in Venice.
The talk introduced the ideas of non-extractive architecture, which advocates an approach to building that does not exploit the planet. Grima has edited a book on the same topic that serves as a manifesto for a form of architectur...