Transition Culture

Bio-Architecture – Javier Senosiain (2003)

**Bio-Architecture by Javier Senosiain. Architectural Press. (2003)**

The study of pattern, that is, shapes and events which occur regularly in nature, is key to sustainable design approaches such as permaculture. In his seminal ‘Permaculture: A Designer’s Manual’, Bill Mollison writes, ‘the pattern is design and design is the subject of permaculture.’ Modern society’s predisposition for straight lines and right angles, arising from an increasing disconnection from nature, has been blamed by many for the social fragmentation in Western society over the last forty to fifty years. This passionately argued book suggests that we look to nature and its patterns and forms for our inspiration rather than the more modernist industrial model that pervades nearly all modern architecture. Javier Senosiain quotes Juan Torres (1810) who said “the architect of the future will build inspired by nature because it is the most rational, the most durable, and the most economic of all methods.�

The first section of the book is an analysis of form in nature, and is a fascinating treatise exploring how nature creates structure and space and how this has inspired both traditional peoples and modern architects in creating shelter. Of particular interest is the shell, mostly spiral, and how it has inspired a number of buildings, perhaps most notably New York’s Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Senosiain’s exploration of modern forms is poetic, beautiful, and well observed. He then explores how human beings have sheltered themselves through history, from caves through to high rise apartments, looking at igloos, tents and yurts as well as cathedrals. His analysis of the structural lessons architects and designers can learn from objects such as eggs and snail shells are fascinating, and his revulsion to most modern architecture, particularly in our cities, is palpable. He quotes Frank Lloyd Wright (clearly a major influence), who, when asked by the city of Detroit to diagnose its problems and suggest a programme for urban renewal, replied, “I suggest you tear down everything and begin again.� Those of us who have done permaculture design work in appallingly badly designed urban spaces may hold a certain sympathy for this perspective. Senosiain returns to vernacular architecture as the ideal form of building, using local materials, culturally and climactically appropriate, human scale, and (generally) beautiful. Indeed, he argues that ‘if we want to stop abusing our energy resources we need to return to vernacular architecture.’

He then goes on to look at a range of architects who have been inspired by ideas of organic architecture, such as Hundertwasser, Gaudi and more. This leads into some of the author’s own work, which, for me, raises the contradiction that is the flawed heart of this book. For Senosiain, and for most of the architects whose work he cites, ‘organic architecture’ refers to form and shape alone. Nearly all the buildings use huge amounts of cement and steel to produce these extraordinary shapes. When passionately describing his own ‘Organic House’ in Mexico, Senosiain raves about ferroconcrete and sprayed polyurethane plastic foam, for instance, “in the living room the carpet is extended over a filling of small polyurethane balls, which takes on the shape of whoever is seated there.� For myself, I feel that materials are key to a truly sustainable architecture. How healthy is it to live in a room full of polyurethane balls? How healthy is it to live in a ferroconcrete building (especially in our high humidity climate)? Cement is hugely energy intensive to produce, and is responsible for much pollution and global warming. On the one hand Senosiain is arguing that we need to return to vernacular architecture, yet on the other hand, he is advocating forms of construction that are highly energy intensive and polluting.

This is a contradiction that is never satisfactorily resolved, yet for me it is a central issue. How can we house ourselves using forms inspired by nature without using natural materials? Techniques like strawbale and cob building are durable and sustainable, but they also allow the expression of natural shapes and forms. They encourage the creation of beautiful natural homes, which connect us more to our cultural sense of the vernacular, rather than some of the more outlandish designs put forward here. This book offers a rich study of nature’s patterns and forms, and how a reverence for them can transform our views of shape and form in the built environment, but the author could do with seeing what people are doing with cob and other natural materials these days.