Green - Pact with nature

Thematic Dossier

House H arh. Tulogdy László, photo: Bologa Andreea

The Covid-19 pandemic of 2020 is perhaps the most dramatic disruption to the life and work of our generation. We realized how vulnerable we are. The pandemic has forced us to reassess our values and practices. We were unconditional masters and beneficiaries of the planet. The balance of power has shifted.
No more defiance of nature, no more destroying forests, no more cruise ships plying the canals of Venice, no more hubris... The pandemic has sounded the alarm bells and made a recapitulation of conscious and irresponsible risks.
We have many dilemmas and few certainties. Very few answers.
Among them is the fact that, for survival, we must make a new Pact with nature. The promises and commitments made can no longer be ignored or postponed.
Romania has made many commitments, only on paper, that all new public buildings will be nZEB (Near Zero Energy Buildings - low energy buildings with very high energy performance) from 2019 and two years later, private buildings will follow (Directive 2010/31/EU, through Law 372/2005, amended in 2016).
But Romania has not put forward any national strategy in this respect, nor has it launched any state support program for buildings that are making efforts in this direction. Why is a state policy needed? Because this requirement means a considerable increase in cost, starting with the conception and design, the materials and equipment used. The payback is in the long term, over the lifetime of the buildings, through lower energy consumption. Friendship with nature, cleaner air, cleaner water and reduced carbon emissions are long-term benefits for generations to come. The immediate future shows only high costs. As usual, the creative force of Romanian architects is left exclusively at the mercy of private initiative and financial urbanism, the only constant in national spatial management.
And yet, in the professional environment, the space dedicated to energy issues has been enlarged thanks to private initiatives. As a guild, we have taken the Pact with Nature on our own.
The state is not getting involved! We have not heard of the Romanian government financially stimulating and encouraging investors willing to apply the law. The case, presented in this issue, of the municipality of Oșorhei is the exception!
It was even more surprising to learn that one of the most highly regarded American consultants on sustainability and energy performance of buildings is a Romanian architect, Mr. Adrian ȚULUCA. In his interview, Mr. Țuluca points out that the Pact with Nature is not a "haggle" over details, but a new philosophy of life, in which we commit ourselves to reduce consumption and produce more energy from the sun, wind and water, to rely less on the planet's oil reserves and more on natural gas, not forgetting its shortcomings, to strive towards a completely "electrified" world, aware of the new risks generated and assumed.

H
arh. Tulogdy László, photo: Bologa Andreea

The landscape architect Nicolas Triboi (with his company "Foaie verde") also talks about the balance of power in the Pact with Nature, recalling the joke about the difference between the architect and God: "God does not think of himself as an Architect". "We need to understand landscape in its complexity, in its deep connection with history, context, place. The green grass is that which is reborn, the green leaf is the symbol of hope, the mystery of life that shows us why we die: because we live! (dixit Montaigne). The green grass at home is that moment when you felt local, real things... We all have places where we feel at home...".
The thematic dossier discusses, in several levels and registers, the link with Nature, with vegetation and landscaping, with the therapeutic effects of gardens that support man in the fight against pathogens. The thematic dossier reconsiders the importance and benefits of green spaces, in the general context and within the city.
The continuing fragilization of the planetary ecosystem and the uncontrolled development caused by massive urbanization with its immediate effects have led to an increased general interest in the natural world, in the conservation and sustainability of the ecosystem and biodiversity, with the involvement of the social factor in the issue of green spaces.
The thematic dossier presents attempts to bring plantations back to the city, such as the Coulé Verte René-Dumont, which has become the emblem of the 12th arrondissement of Paris and a source of inspiration for the ambitious High Line project in New York.
Of the national experiences, particular attention has been paid to Cluj, which in recent decades has been reconsidering urban spaces and the natural setting through the presence of vegetation. The orientation of the city towards green spaces and the planned organization of the layout and arrangement of these areas is richly documented in the distant history of Cluj, but also in the modern history of Cluj, as the architect Mr. arh. Vasile Mitrea.
The thematic dossier proves that we can only talk about buildings and nature in their indissoluble interdependence and inter-conditionality. The pandemic has helped us to value open space, fresh air and green grass.

ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE SUMMARY 1-2 / 2021
The thematic dossier proves that we can only talk about buildings and nature in their indissoluble interdependence and inter-conditionality.