Other Limits, Other Aesthetics: New Parameters of Habitability in Architectural Composition

Abstract

How can we approach architectural composition nowadays? Should we maintain the theoretical substratum that is established only in the architectural design practice, or should we contribute concepts that channel the problems derived from our intervention on the environment, taking it as the ultimate foundation of any architectural creation process? First, by formulating a new environmental aesthetic that values it as such. And secondly, by analyzing its risks within the new limits set by the climate emergency we are faced with. The Architectural Composition Area at the University of Alcalá exemplifies this approach through ongoing research projects. One such project is “EXTREME CITY,” which analyses the challenges of designing for intense and extraordinary urban environments that go beyond the typical urban experience. Another is the “HETEROTOPIC AND HUNGRY CITY,” which envisions a floating city as a defense mechanism, expanding its reach and influence on the territory while simultaneously demonstrating its independence from the natural world that sustains it. The intelligent application of cutting-edge technologies could pave the way for a future of BIOTECHNOLOGY-based architecture, seamlessly integrated with the natural world. In a contrasting yet complementary and resistant approach, NEO-RURALISM offers a compelling alternative form of habitation. By embracing the vast potential of increasingly depopulated rural areas, it incorporates risk assessment as a key “compositional” parameter in exploring these new ways of living.