In 1961, the Berlin Wall was built and John F. Kennedy took office as
President of the United States of America. Yuri Gagarin was the first
man to fly into space. And in Munich, in the south of the Federal
Republic of Germany, Detail was founded. For this very special issue
celebrating the magazine’s 60th birthday, instead of a nostalgic
retrospective we opted to take stock of the present and look to the
future of architecture. Our roadmap was provided by the pressing issue
of climate protection and the earth’s dwindling resources.
What is needed for true systemic change in the construction industry?
The committed pioneers in our interviews make sober assessments, but
also articulate their vision and demands for political action. “What can
we do about the climate emergency?” we ask Michael Pawlyn of Architects
Declare. Nora Sophie Griefahn from Cradle to Cradle (C2C) explains why
we need to fundamentally rethink construction. Hermann Kaufmann
considers the development of timber construction and its future. Anders
Lendager, a pioneer of circular construction, focuses on the urban mines
of the future. And Amandus Samsø Sattler of the German Sustain able
Building Council (DGNB) has clear ideas of how architecture can be
approached in an entirely new way.
For this issue, our exemplary projects are for climate-friendly building
– regardless of their function, they share thoughtful design and
sustainable construction methods, from office buildings built with
single variety materials to low-tech architecture with reduced
emissions. We also document compelling examples of Cradle to Cradle and
Energy Plus concepts, which have been stringently implemented right down
to the choice of materials and details. Do climate-friendly buildings
ultimately depend on the attitudes of builders and architects? This
conclusion is confirmed by the South Tyrolean architect and industrial
designer Matteo Thun in our portrait.
