Subject

Does sustainable architecture wear out? Posed in a seemingly paradoxical way, the question concerns the relationship between architecture, sustainability, and wear. While, in theory, it may seem obvious that architecture is made to be durable, that today it must be sustainable, and that it is destined to be worn out, in practice this raises numerous questions, tensions and contradictions.

Whether it's a question of assessing the mechanical and environmental durability of a building material, or the dilemmas between maintenance, renovation and (re)construction, sustainable architecture today is caught up in multiple ambiguities. The first of these can be found in the duplicity of the notion of sustainability itself. And yet, there is an urgent need to take the time to find the conditions for our long-term installation, beyond the sustainability of an economic and productive system to which the notion of sustainable development refers (Vivien 2003). Here, wear acts as a revealer, putting the sustainability of architecture to the test of use and time.

Practical details

Contact

Elie Pauporté

UCLouvain – LAB – Louvain Research Institute for Territory, Architecture and the Built Environment - 6, rue du Glategnies - 7500 Tournai

Location

UCLouvain - LOCI Faculty - Faculty of Architecture, Architectural Engineering, Urban Planning - 6, rue du Glategnies - 7500 Tournai - acces information

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Date & schedule

Date of the study day: 01/02/2024.

Schedule:

• 8.30 welcome
• 9.00 – 10.30 1st session
• 10.30 - 11.00 break
• 11.00 - 12.30 2nd session
• 12.30 - 13.45 lunch
• 13.45 - 15.15 3rd session
• 15.15 - 15.45 break
• 15.45 – 17.30 4th session and conclusion