But are there any solutions to the problem? Who knows how it could be solved? It is a problem that demands urgent answers, and – as many others have done – the authors of the film Last Call for Planet Earth are resolved to provide them. For the way in which we build our houses and cities does indeed hold a key to a more climate compatible future.
Between 40 and 50 percent of all energy used on earth is linked to the construction and maintenance of buildings.
The title of the film (Last Call for Planet Earth) seems to hint at stirring appeals underpinned by a touch of apocalyptic sentiment. But this merely serves as a disguise for a surprisingly conventional approach, whereby a succession of twelve architects present their projects and opinions on sustainability. Pronouncements such as “For me sustainability is tantamount to a cultural revolution, and like every revolution it hurts”, by Françoise-Hélène Jourda are the exception. In general, the persons questioned rather give the impression that climate problems can be solved relatively painlessly with the help of architecture.
Their contributions touch on almost all areas of sustainable building: the consumption of energy and of raw materials used in buildings, the active and passive utilisation of solar power, the creation of green areas in cities, the recycling of materials and the lifespan of buildings as well as the social aspects of architecture. One cannot help but admire the buildings and projects presented in the film – some of which have already been published to global acclaim, while others are still relatively unknown.
But what Last Call for Planet Earth lacks is a probing look beneath the smooth surface: the authors never ask their interview partners where their influence ends and what problems they have battled. Similarly, the important question respecting the conditions that will allow ecological architecture to move from individual cases to become a mass phenomenon is ignored. The most convincing interview in the film is also the only one that was not held with an ‘active’ architect: over the past three decades, working as an urban planner and a mayor, Jaime Lerner has completely turned the Brazilian town of Curitiba around to focus on sustainability. His most important tool was consistent funding of urban public transport. Lerner rightly commented: “‘Green’ buildings and recycling alone are not sufficient; the problem lies more in the manner in which our cities are designed.
The perception that cities are only for living and working and that people need to go elsewhere to relax is unacceptable and, in my opinion, must change completely within the next ten years.” Lerner thus scales down the influence of architecture to an acceptable level: that of setting a good example in individual cases. Because, given the wrong economic and political conditions, even the ‘greenest’ architecture is doomed to failure – and films like Last Call for Planet Earth could very quickly become just so much waste footage.