Against the ecological prejudice: the specific experience of the built landscape

Pastor, M. ORCID: 0000-0002-9758-369X, 2016. Against the ecological prejudice: the specific experience of the built landscape. REIA (Revista Europea de Investigación en Arquitectura) (5), pp. 131-151. ISSN 2340–9851

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Abstract

English abstract:
Ecological consciousness has seen enormous growth in recent decades and prejudiced ways of understanding the relationship between architecture and nature have emerged. The urgent need for preserving the natural environment has led to general and inflexible regulations that, far from
regarding the specific experience, prevent the appearance of the extraordinary built landscape. Fortunately, this has not always been so: we might wonder, for example, whether it is preferable the eastern rock face of the Arabah Valley (Jordan) preserved in its natural state, to the experience of Petra built landscape, whose transformation of the
original scene gives it a new identity, full of beauty and meaning. A thought on this topic invites us to take a glance to the recent past and look at the utopian proposal of a Spanish architect, internationally recognized in its time and today almost forgotten: the project of a hotel in the Maltese rock of Gozo (1967), made by Julio Lafuente. A modern example whose poetic sensitivity and expressive
power show that exceeding prevention to human intervention in nature is not always convenient.
Spanish abstract:
La conciencia ecológica ha experimentado un enorme crecimiento en las últimas décadas y, con ella, han surgido formas prejuiciadas de comprender la relación de la arquitectura con la naturaleza. La necesidad urgente de
preservar el entorno natural ha conducido a normativas generalizadoras y poco flexibles que, lejos de contemplar la experiencia concreta, impiden el florecimiento del paisaje
construido extraordinario. Afortunadamente, esto no siempre ha sido así: cabría preguntarse, por ejemplo, si es preferible la pared rocosa oriental del valle del Arabah
(Jordania) preservada en su estado natural, o la experiencia del paisaje construido de Petra, que transforma el paisaje original del valle y le confiere una nueva identidad, cargada de belleza y significado. Una reflexión sobre este tema nos invita a dirigir la mirada hacia el pasado reciente para fijarnos en la propuesta utópica de un arquitecto español, internacionalmente reconocida en su tiempo y hoy casi olvidada: el proyecto de un hotel en la roca de Gozo (Malta, 1967), de Julio Lafuente. Un ejemplo moderno cuya
sensibilidad poética y potencia expresiva muestran que el exceso de prevención ante la intervención del hombre en la naturaleza no siempre es conveniente.

Item Type: Journal article
Alternative Title: Contra el prejuicio ecológico: la experiencia concreta del paisaje construido
Description: Parallel text in Spanish and English
Publication Title: REIA (Revista Europea de Investigación en Arquitectura)
Creators: Pastor, M.
Publisher: Universidad Europea de Madrid
Date: January 2016
Number: 5
ISSN: 2340–9851
Divisions: Schools > School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment
Record created by: Linda Sullivan
Date Added: 14 Jun 2017 10:10
Last Modified: 14 Jun 2017 10:10
Related URLs:
URI: https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/30960

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