But, more importantly it reduces the vast overhead of the cost for the “new”, and most of the new really isn’t so new anyway. Radical Reconstruction is radical recycling, reclamation, and just plain responsible. That is a lot of R’s.

Sally what you say is very disrespectful, “Do me a favor, just call what you peddle art, and call it a day”. Radical Reconstruction is a serious way to build, rebuild and create a new way for communities to rapidly repair and heal. Granted LW makes it, art as do all the successful architects and designers, but it isn’t peddling art.

Haiti should have used all the rubble and made gabion building blocks as a major part of their RR-kit of parts. They could have utilized the essence of Rome and created a community—radically. Wire baskets, forklifts and a vision to restore community.

The biggest challenge I see here is who is in charge of the conceptual vision and can they handle utilizing principle #3?

Thank again LW for all the posts.

Also, I’m really interested in what you—”a professional and practicing architect”—consider to be “pragmatic” architecture. Examples?

Just what is the purpose of decorating damaged building structures with scrap airplane parts? Is it to make a sculptural statement about war?

As a professional and practicing architect that creates real buildings and deals with real conditions (sans the comfy cushion of academia), it amazes at the level of naiveity that gets peddled in architecture schools for such high professorship salaries. Is it any wonder that architects don’t get any respect relative to their professional peers? Do me a favor, just call what you peddle art, and call it a day.

Labels are necessary to distinguish the quixotic from the pragmatic.

I really appreciate this post! I own a copy of the Pamphlet Architecture 15 “war and architecture” and many others in the Pamphlet Architecture series as well as your “Radical Reconstruction”. I used both of these as my precedents in my architecture thesis (December 2010) including in my final presentation—I read the following statements:

“Architecture must learn to transform the violence, even as violence knows how to transform the architecture”
and
“The scare is a mark of pride, and of honor, both for what has been lost and what has been gained.

My thesis was about war/death (body becomes layer of topography) and second part was about border issue.

I have attempted to contact you in the past. I would love to send you a copy of my thesis monograph (160 pages) if you accept that.

Thank you again for this post!

Alan
http://www.aascapes.com