The Aesthetics of Sustainable Architecture

The exhibition “The Aesthetics of the Sustainable Architecture” in Jaroslav Fragner Gallery (Prague 2020) focuses on the development of the field after 2008, when a similar exhibition “Green Architecture.CZ” took
place here. This time, over 60 examples of Czech and international realizations addresses a broader area of sustainability principles, in several categories: residential houses and block of flats; schools, commercial and industrial facilities; public areas and landscaping projects; new use of brownfields; and large urban areas. They share the same goal: to demonstrate that the principles of sustainability can become integral part of the work, not compromising the aesthetic qualities of the project. 

The book begins with theoretical studies exploring the topic from various points of view. Petr Kratochvíl’s “Firmitas, Utilitas, Venustas and Sustainability” focuses on whether we should understand sustainability as a specific quality of an architectural work, or whether it’s a necessary condition of every good piece of architecture. “It Is Time For a Global Warming History of Modern Architecture” by Hans Ibelings proves that we need the new interpretation of the architectural development, with more emphasis on architects and works that responded, in the past already, to negative environmental consequences of the civilization development. Jan Tywoniak’s “Buildings – Part of the Problem, Part of the Solution” summarizes
new knowledge on the technical features of sustainable buildings and also offers an overview of the binding political EU documents that should initiate the positive changes. Petr Kropp’s “The Aesthetics of the Transfer to Sustainable Mobility” draws on the author’s experience with the conversion of traffic nodal points in the Netherlands. And “How to Exhibit Sustainable Architecture” by Dan Merta is a review of many past exhibitions in Jaroslav Fragner Gallery; with different names, they reflected topics related to sustainable architecture, and therefore Merta presents some of the most important projects and authors.