Home: Do It Yourself

dom_jednorodzinny_budowa_forum.jpg, default, Polish countryside, 1989, family before building a one-family house, photo: Chris Niedenthal / Forum

#architecture

Thousands and hundreds of years ago, people built comfortable, safe, functional houses with their own hands. They did this in harmony with nature and the conditions of the environment. Over the years, we have completely forgotten these methods; we have kept destroying the planet and worsening our living conditions in the process. Has the time come for a renaissance of building handicrafts?

In late 1964 and early 1965, the Museum of Modern Art in New York presented an exhibition titled Architecture Without Architects, curated by the eminent researcher, critic and architectural historian Bernard Rudofsky.

Thumbnail — ‘Architecture Without Architects: A Short Introduction to Non-Pedigreed Architecture’, photo: University of New Mexico Press

In the exhibition, he presented examples from 60 countries from all over the world of buildings constructed without the aid of professional, tutored designers – vernacular, archaic, original architecture or architecture created by hand by its future users. The exhibition stirred up a great deal of controversy since Rudofsky placed buildings constructed without the participation of architects higher than those we now consider to be outstanding or exceptional, designed by respected artists. ‘Buildings that we take to be archaic are often models of true functionalism and timeless modernity as distinct from architectural fashions’, he wrote in a publication accompanying the exhibition, emphasising that this type of construction is far from accidental and is most indicative of what architecture is for – namely, providing shelter and a functional setting for human life. In the apotheosis of ‘architecture without architects’, ‘untutored builders do not subordinate the general welfare to the pursuit of profit’, emphasised Rudofsky, at the same time incorporating criticism of his contemporary way of building, where the fundamental purpose and sense of constructing buildings have been forgotten and their architecture has been subordinated to business rules or aesthetic show-offs. ‘Progress that does not take human needs into account is a disaster’, thundered the exhibition’s curator, trying to make the audience realise that this is precisely why only primordial architecture, built to suit real needs, cut to size and not created for profit, for business rivalries or for boosting the creator’s ego could provide true development.

Architecture without architects

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Bird’s eye view of settlement in Biskupin, photo: Wojciech Wojcik / Forum

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Although more than half a century has passed since the exhibition at MoMA, the theses posed by Bernard Rudofsky are still remarkably relevant today. The neoliberal economic model prevailing in most developed countries has made the construction industry, including the most important one – housing – a part of the free-market game, making it not only inaccessible to many but also detached from real needs, possibilities and the proverbial ‘common sense’. This problem is particularly acute in the face of climate change and the increasingly urgent need to re-evaluate the effects and modes of human activity. Today, it is clear that buildings should not be constructed the way they were before and that a change is needed in the way we live, in our habits and above all in the business model of architecture. Because construction in its current form is responsible for almost 40% of carbon dioxide emissions, the production of building materials, the demolition of existing houses (to replace them with new, larger ones) and the transport of luxury or exotic finishes all represent a massive burden on the environment. This is why there has been talk for years of the need to ‘return to our roots’ – to build the way our ancestors did, for whom a building meant a shelter, not a capital investment.

A remedy for globalisation

The book by architect Jakub Szczęsny, Witajcie w Świecie bez Architektów (Welcome to a World Without Architects), published in 2021 by the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, is an attempt to tell the story of the original ideas of architecture and how and why building took place when a house was primarily to serve its users, how they used sometimes scarce resources and how – with their own hands – they dealt with unfavourable conditions, climate, the availability of land. In the introduction to the book, Szczęsny writes:

For millennia, we have been paying attention to the specifics of the places where our dwellings are to stand. The shape of a building is determined by the functions assigned to it, the climate and the landscape. Where it rained frequently, pitched roofs and eaves had to be built to drain water. Where the sun was scorching, walls had to be as thick as possible and windows and doors had to be placed so as to force air movement to further cool interiors. Where only one type of building material was available, people learned to build houses solely from it. Over time, they became adept at this and indulged in decoration.

Contemporary architecture no longer respects these principles; a glass skyscraper can be built in the tropics, and a flat roof can be used where it snows. Today, buildings are raised regardless of conditions; similar houses or office buildings can be built in the north of the globe and in the equatorial jungle, in New York, Yakutsk, Kinshasa or La Paz. Today, adapting a building to its surroundings is not a necessity, as we have inventions that make it easier to adapt to the environment: in the 21st century, it is difficult to imagine a building that is not packed with electronics and devices that create the comfortable conditions inside that were once offered by the architecture itself through its shape or the materials that were used. Interestingly, these buildings were often constructed by the occupants themselves, without the help of engineers and architects…

Awareness of how much the ideas that architecture serves man have been distorted in the modern world is growing.

Calls for a return to the ‘true functionalism and timeless modernity’ that Rudofsky wrote about 57 years ago are finally being heard with increasing frequency. In Witaj w Świecie bez Architektów, Jakub Szczęsny explains why houses were built underground in some regions of China (because they provided warmth in a cold climate in a place where there were few other building materials), why people lived in densely stacked clay cubicles in Algiers (they provided coolness but also security), but also what rules govern the building of a kibbutz and what happens when hundreds of people move into an unfinished office building. As he admits, he wrote the book with his teenage son and his son’s peers in mind. He wants to show them what we build for, how architecture can and should serve people and how to create it in dialogue with the environment, needs and possibilities. This is something that has been completely forgotten in recent times, as we have been building concrete buildings with no logic or respect for existing conditions, using up countless amounts of water and sand (which are running out), transporting building components over huge distances and not making full use of what nature itself offers (such as daylight or wind).

You have no money, so build

This growing awareness of the damage that modern architecture is causing to the environment is compounded by the no less serious problem of the availability of houses or flats. There is a very rapid increase in the number of places in the world where residents simply cannot afford a decent place to live. All this is contributing to a growing interest in the do-it-yourself building of houses. Some see it as an alternative to what is on offer in the artificially inflated housing market; others see it as an opportunity to live in healthier conditions, respecting the environment, closer to nature and without harming it.

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House of architects Zofia and Oskar Hansen in Szumin, under construction since 1969, photo: Andrzej Przywara / courtesy of Foksal Gallery Foundation

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Oskar Hansen, dom architekta w Szuminie, fot. Andrzej Przywara / dzięki uprzejmości Fundacji Galerii Foksa

At the beginning of the 1980s, when Poland was plunged into an economic crisis that quickly affected housing construction as well, guides on how to ‘build your own house’ using materials obtained from various sources became very popular. The authors of the book Building Your Own House, published in 1983, explained:

There has been a marked increase in recent times in interest in designs for one-family houses and in all information related to their construction. One of the main reasons for this is that obtaining your own dwelling by any other means than by taking the trouble to build your house yourself is unrealistic for a great many people in the not too distant future.

These words are perfectly applicable today, as are attempts to ‘bypass’ the costly process of hiring a professional construction team. Can the achievements of our ancestors, who knew so well how to build comfortably, cheaply and in harmony with the environment, be of any use today?

Made of straw & waste

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Comfortable & ecological house, architectural design by Jacek Gałąska / Earth-Heart, construction by Earth-Heart natural building, photo: press material Earth-Heart / http://www.earth-heart.pl

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Advocates of erecting houses of straw certainly benefit from this experience. This material has been used in Poland for centuries to build houses. ‘Strawbale’ technology is now gaining in popularity. It consists in erecting buildings based on a wooden frame filled with pressed straw cubes covered with clay plaster; the straw cubes form walls and an insulating layer at the same time, while the clay ensures proper regulation of humidity. This ‘ancient’ method is perfectly suited to today’s times; it is not only ecological but also economical (a house built using this technique has the parameters of an energy-efficient building) and healthy – the natural materials themselves regulate temperature and humidity depending on weather conditions, providing optimal living conditions. Over the past few years, Poland has witnessed an increase in the number of companies that custom-build straw houses, as well as places where one can learn the technique in order to build one’s own dwelling (with the help of family or friends). Building with straw is cheap, fast and all the materials used in the construction can be reused (and even if they become waste, they naturally decompose without burdening the environment in any way). Waste is one of the biggest environmental problems on the planet. We produce so much of it that we do not know quite what to do with it. Some people use it for building.

House of Wastes in Mierzeszyn near Pruszcz Gdański, project by: Barbara Wojtkowska-Guichert, photo: Ekocentrycy Holistic Architecture&Design, press materials — House made of waste in Mierzeszyn near Pruszcz Gdański, designed by Barbara Wojtkowska-Guichert, photo: press materials of Ekocentrycy Holistic Architecture&Design

‘Earthship’ is a completely self-sufficient and cost-free house that is built to use as few resources as possible. Built from waste, rubbish, and unneeded, discarded items, it is usually equipped with rainwater tanks, renewable energy sources and sometimes with its own natural wastewater treatment plant. Its existence does not cost money, and construction also requires a willingness to work rather than a large budget. The first such house in Poland was erected in 2016 near Pruszcz Gdański (created with the help of architect Barbara Wojtkowska-Guichert); others followed. It is also possible to take part in workshops on the construction of ‘contemporary dugouts’ (this is what their creators themselves call them; they are organised by, among others, the association Earthshiplife) to be able to build yourself a comfortable house from construction waste, tyres, cans, bottles, supplemented with clay, straw and compacted earth.

Space technology & the life of a snail

While some people looking for a way to build a house themselves reach for the legacy of their ancestors, others prefer newer technologies. Fabricating houses using 3D printers has many supporters in the world of architecture (there is talk that the printers will allow us to colonise space – instead of sending bricks, concrete, cranes and concrete mixers to other planets, it is enough to pack a printer into a spaceship). Although few such houses have been built so far, the optimum designs and parameters are still being sought, and better and better equipment is being built to print habitable buildings. Houses fabricated by 3D printers that are several dozen metres high can already be found in the USA, China, Russia, the Netherlands and the United Arab Emirates. The largest habitable printed house to date is 176 square metres and is located in Calverton, New York. In Poland, the company REbuild has advanced work on perfecting 3D printing technology. Their concrete-printed prototype house is seven square metres, but their printers are already used to create benches, bins and flowerpots without any trouble. For the time being, as it is still experimental – house printing technology is very costly – but ultimately it is expected to offer the possibility of creating housing inexpensively, quickly and autonomously. It is also expected to make a significant contribution to solving housing problems in poor communities.

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3D printer, photo: peri.com.pl

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While some people fantasise about building on the moon, others prefer to stay away from technology. Among the proponents of ‘slow life’, a small house that can be easily transported to any location at any time has become very popular. Usually ranging from a dozen to a little over 30 square metres in size, the houses are usually made from prefabricated wooden elements, which makes them easy to assemble, lightweight and environmentally friendly. Equipped with wheels or capable of being transported on platforms, they are suitable for setting up in any landscape: on a mountain, by a river, in the forest or in the city (e.g. on the roof of another building). Although micro-homes were originally built primarily for summer recreation, today there is growing interest in houses that can be lived in year-round. The residents themselves refine the construction and furnishings to make them a durable and comfortable refuge from the hustle and bustle of the city. Simple, minimalist micro-homes make it possible to live the lifestyle of a snail – moving from place to place while always having your home with you.

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Baba Yaga’s house, photo: Pole Architekci

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There are many indications that climate change will put a stop to the age-long human rush for discoveries, innovations and the race to invent ever more modern technologies. That will require a change in our way of life and a lot of sacrifices, but in the case of architecture, a return to the ways of our ancestors, to the craft of building, to simple forms and methods of construction accessible to everyone can probably be a good thing for everyone.

Written in Polish by Anna Cymer, 17 August 2022

Translated by Agnieszka Mistur

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