Anyone who passes by Praça Mauá until October 17th will be surprised by an open-air event: a pavilion made of sustainable reforestation wood, with 24 photographic and typographic panels and open to public visits. It is the exhibition “Futuro Agora – Revisitando a Arquitetura em Terra” – an unusual and elegant space, with free entry, which will show the visitor how the old and well-known clay, combined with high technology, is creating the basis for more sustainable constructions of the modern world. An exhibition to awaken people’s knowledge, desires and curiosity. So, are we going to get to know this new reality?
The exhibition is divided into two pillars: exhibition and free webinars, covering topics such as technological innovation, digital manufacturing, culture and history of pisé (clay construction technique, called rammed earth in Brazil) and sustainability of the materials used.
The idea came from Jason Baumann, from the Swiss company Insight Architecture, who invited Chilean architect Diego Baloian to create the exhibition space that was developed with a focus on Brazil, the country that hosted the 27th World Architecture Congress, an online event that, between March and July, discussed various relevant aspects of architecture, with the participation of professionals from all over the world.
The exhibition aims to reach not only the public specializing in architecture, but certainly also everyone who wants to discover new ways of more sustainable construction. Being aware of the potential of raw clay, one of the oldest building materials, available in large quantities worldwide, and fully reusable and carbon neutral, is of global interest. Throughout history, technological development gradually reduced the use of clay with the introduction of burnt limestone, used to produce cement, the mandatory ingredient to produce reinforced concrete. The massive use of concrete as a very versatile and supposedly eternal material was made possible by the almost infinite availability of cheap energy based on coal and oil throughout the 20th century, but which has already proven harmful to the environment.
What will the public see at the pavilion?
As soon as they enter the space, people will have pleasant surprises: they will discover new projects such as the Kiln Tower, or Torre do Forno, a recent creation by Studio Boltshauser, from ETH Zurich. Installed in the area of the Cham Brickworks Museum, in Switzerland, the 9-meter Tower was built using the pisé clay technique, which compacts raw clay into shapes, in a similar way to rammed earth, which was widely used in Brazil. In addition to being an exhibition space, the Tower also houses a kiln for burning clay.
The second work on display is Robotic Clay Rotunda, or Rotunda Robótica de Argila, created by Gramazio Kohler Research, also at ETH Zurich. To create the structure, on an architectural scale, a robotic construction method was used, which consumes less material and emits less carbon, which reduces the impact on nature. The process uses clay cylinders – so-called “soft pressed bricks” – which allow geometrically complex structures to be produced.
“Futuro Agora” is created by Insight Architecture, a Swiss company that values architecture through architectural trips, events and design with a focus on Brazil, in partnership with architects Diego Baloian, from Chile, and Pedro Rivera, from Brazil. It also has the collaboration of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich ETH and support from the Consulate General of Switzerland in Rio de Janeiro.
To find out more visit the website https://insight-architecture.com/future-now-exhibition
Service:
Praça Mauá, s/n – Center of Rio
From 09/08 to 10/17, 2021
Opening hours: 10am to 6pm
Free entrance
Webinars – schedule and themes – Futuro Agora
As part of the exhibition and parallel to the UIA 2021 Rio congress, Insight Architecture also produces, in collaboration with Swissnex Brasil, a series of webinars on technological developments and the impact on contemporary architecture, broadcast live and free of charge via the link https://insight-architecture.com/future-now-webinars-events. The events will be held in Portuguese and English, with simultaneous translation into both languages.
Below is the schedule:
September 29th at 2pm – Use of clay in construction
With Martin Rauch (Austria) and Fernando Minto (Brazil), moderated by Igor de Vetyemy (Brazil).
10/06 at 2pm – About digital fabrication in architecture
With Fabian Scheurer (Switzerland) and Benjamin Dillenburger (Netherlands), moderation Cheryl Jacobs (USA).
10/14 at 2pm – Sustainable use of wood in construction
With Josep Ferrando (Spain), Marcos Acayaba (Brazil), Marcelo Aflalo (Brazil), moderation by Renato Turri/WorldArchitects (Switzerland).
