| The relation between the earth - as a natural element and the planet on which we live - and architecture is illustrated in this volume where the respect for nature's simplicity inspired each of the cases here presented. With a renewed desire to make use of the materials the earth can offer and a strong sense of identification with the habitat that surrounds them, these architects and interior designers offer solutions - some more technical, others artisanal - that ensure that their projects are as well-integrated into their surroundings as possible, with designs that seem to retro-nourish themselves from the planet: they adapt to it and resolve, with as little environmental impact as possible, the challenges in topography, climate, energy and culture planted befu'e rhem. This way, architecture is responding with efficient and conclusive proposals that, similar to the concepts of sustainable architecture, symbolize a meditative and logical contemplation of origins by displaying more confidence in materials that are 100% earthen and of great sensorial elegance: they can be smelled, are rugged to the touch and adapt different physiognomies and colors with the passage of time. In this fashion, the Architecture section displays a set of planned and executed instances which have maintained maximum respect for nature, sometimes achieving that their labors disappear into the neighboring landscape completely. On occasion, this implicates external natural elements - a meadow, a tree, a valley view - into becoming a part of the home's interior, so that nature lives in situ in an extraordinarily emotional way. This section concentrates on interiors where mother stone has literally become a part of the home, fruit of an excellent balance between the necessities of the project and the determining factors of the terrain. In addition, the renovation of ancient buildings demonstrates that, from the environmental point of view, demolition is always costlier than recycling. Sustainable construction, another point of interest, is measured in conjunction with a home's energy efficiency, such as the convective power of the water found in a pool, the use of thermal isolation chambers in wall paneling, the air-conditioning system used or the creation of slopes of pulverized rock to facilitate cross ventilation in the summer. Much like terrain, the climate also presents itself as a factor of inspiration in those cases where arid or windy conditions become a challenge for the architect come time for planning the best construction solution. Much like the amalgam of materials presented here - natural stone, limestone, siltstone, slate, marble, terracotta, adobe, rammed earth, straw or untreated brick - a variety of possibilities are demonstrated through the exploration and application of different types of paneling, load bearing walls, retaining walls, or when it comes to interiors, tile covered walls, bathrooms and counter-tops. The Interiors section is laid out as a trip through the varied creative uses of stone and its mineral derivatives for different applications and supports. The availability of a variety of relevant styles - from minimalism to the neo-baroque, the industrial to the rustic - applied to different types of homes, serves to highlight the intrinsic properties of the materials themselves: strength, refreshing to the touch and esthetically decorative. Making this a natural treasure at the disposal of architects and interior designers, suggesting technical solutions all throughout this publication. By definition, Earth is conceived as a visual and almost textural journey which aims to bring us closer to the type of architecture where planner and designer alike understand nature as a source of inspiration and an end unto itself, thus framing the final construction. This is an aspiration not lacking in poetry at the planning stage, alluding in equal parts to creative, artisanal and earthen elements, and which seeks out its own place in the modern realm. |
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