Leon Krier: Architecture in the Age of Austerity

Arkitekturopprøret Norge (aonorge) stormer framover, med over 50.000 følgere på Instagram, de aller fleste siden nyttår, så det ser ut til at vi er i ferd med å få et arkitektonisk paradigmeskifte. Derfor vil jeg i fortsettelsen re-poste noen av mine gamle artikler, i denne lange kampen jeg og mine med-alexandrinere har stått i de siste 15 år.

Leon Krier er en gigant, dessuten innrømmer han stolt, i likhet med undertegnede, at han ikke makter å leve i anti-biofile og degraderte omgivelser. Han er svært sensitiv for omgivelsene, og ser dette som en god, menneskelig egenskap.

Nærende, biofil bakgård i Venezia, midt i blinken for Leon Krier og undertegnede. Her kan sjelen vokse og gro😘

Introduction in English

This lecture by Leon Krier is one of the most informative I’ve ever watched on the field of architecture, each minute is a flash of insight. Great architecture is just so simple, maybe this is why it is so difficult to achieve for modern man? We are born with the language of architecture, it’s universal, but we lost it with the coming of Modernism. Luckily, as Krier states, flowers have not become modernists.

There is a short introduction in Spanish, but Krier speaks in English language. The theme is architecture in the age of austerity, and we learn that modern architecture is only possible because of abundant energy and big machines. With the decline of civilization we’ll have no other choice than a return to traditional architecture, which is one of the aspects that will make our future better than the present, in spite of all the turmoil we’ll face.

First I wanted to write a summary of this lecture, but I found that too immense a task, as it’s filled with mind breaking stuff. I’m too overwhelmed and need time to absorb all this information. Just listen to what Krier has to say about skyscrapers at about 45 minutes into the video, and even the most fanatic skyscraper lover will have to admit this is one of the most stupid inventions in human history.

I know that people like Nikos A. Salingaros and Joseph Redwood-Martinez see Leon Krier as a giant, and after watching this lecture I’ve come to the same conclusion. Krier gives hope for a return to sanity for humanity. Beauty and sanity are the same thing, and the only thing that can give us back love for Earth.

"Hi Øyvind,

Many thanks for passing along these resources! Krier is a giant, it has been some time since I've engaged with his thinking, but I've very much enjoyed watching this provocative presentation. And it links up quite well with J.A. Arnfinsen's conversation with Nikos Salingaros at levevei.no.

In particular, I found it interesting to come into some of these lines of thinking after having wrapped up the past month of working on this exhibition in San Diego: http://uag.ucsd.edu/. Good to pull into these topics now that the dust has settled a bit.

All the best,
Joseph Redwood-Martinez"

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Published at P2P-Foundation on November 22, 2013. Republished at Resilience.org the same day. At Countercurrents on November 25.

"Idealet hos de som bygger landet er utgruppa, materialisert gjennom bilindustriens eneboliger og Le Corbusiers tårnet i parken. Utviklingslinja går fra den engelske hærskapsboligen til den suburbane eneboligen, som til slutt ble stablet i høyden for å gjøre den mer tilgjengelig for arbeiderklassen. Parken, som var ment å omslutte tårnet i parken på samme vis som for den engelske hærskapsboligen, er det i dag lite igjen av. Begge typologiene ble skapt ut fra ideen om å forlate den kaotiske, tradisjonelle byen, og leve rene liv borte fra byens larm. Bolig, arbeid og fritid er her separate enheter, som ikke under noen omstendighet må blandes, for da kan kaoskreftene tilsmusse det rene suburbane paradiset." - Øyvind Holmstad