We interview Josep Bunyesc, architect and doctor in sustainable architecture and energy economy.
1- What could we say is the main impact that construction/architecture has on the natural environment?
Constructions in the natural environment, i.e. all over the planet, have an impact at two levels:
- One, related to the materials it is built with, earth movements and resource movements to create that object in that place. Sometimes materials that are mobilized from far away and the energy that will be needed to disintegrate or reabsorb all those materials by nature.
- Two, during the use of the building: the energy and resources we use to keep the building in operation, from air conditioning, water, electricity and even food and waste from all this derived from our activity in those buildings. In the first, to mitigate the impact we must look to the vernacular architecture of the place, pre-industrial, with local materials with little transformation and with materials renewable by nature such as wood.
On the second point, we have come to build buildings that generate their own energy and even buildings that have some left over. It is what we call positive architecture or buildings, which generate renewable energy on site, basically with solar energy, being able to manage their own water and ideally generating food for the people who pass through it.
2- What importance do you attach to the durability of the materials used in construction in the mountains, especially in the case of wood as a constructive element?
The materials used must last but, at the end of their useful life, they must be able to be reabsorbed by the biosphere and disappear, like all the living organic in the world. You need to understand the materials used, what they are like and how they work. A pre-industrial town abandoned after a few years, no more than 40 years, is swallowed up and digested by nature. The materials that we have developed in an effort to be eternal (false expectation of life and deviant way of understanding our path through this world) means that they can withstand bad weather but then become a waste that is difficult to manage, like some metals or plastics . Wood is an example. Well built, understanding the essence of the material, it can last for many generations. You only need to see the Japanese temples, which have endured earthquakes and other disturbances.
3- How do you approach the selection of materials to guarantee resistance to the specific climatic and environmental conditions of the mountainous area, and what criteria do you prioritize in this choice to ensure a sustainable and long-lasting construction?
The functional obsolescence of buildings is often much faster than the obsolescence of many building materials. In the cities, buildings less than 100 years old are demolished because they want to build taller or bigger buildings or adapted to changing needs. So it is a mistake to look for eternal buildings when the functionality for what they are designed for is changing, and this is faster than we think. Therefore, there is no need to make eternal buildings. Yes, they will last one or two generations, but the following ones will already update them to their needs. But we must not pass them on to future generations (which we are now doing) a greater job of deconstructing than the one we had to build. This happens with some materials that we currently use. Like reinforced concrete, lacquered and polyurethane sandwich panels… Very durable materials but very difficult to deconstruct and recycle. A good quality of the construction of the site and its use should be prioritized, rather than uncontrolled and indiscriminate use of durable materials in themselves.
4- What is the design process you follow? (From choosing the materials, construction process, durability calculation with and without maintenance…)
With the design, we base ourselves on the two points I mentioned at the beginning. On the one hand, the shape and implementation of the building favors the characteristics of the site, the sun, the wind, the views, the foundations, risk of avalanches, accessibility, water… With these points in favor we already have a lot earned so that the building can work alone. If we try to spend the winter in a place where the sun does not touch it, there is no need to continue thinking about building materials, it will certainly not work well. And then, once we know the features of the site, we look to take advantage of them. For example, we will place the windows where the winter sun will touch, we will protect ourselves from the prevailing wind and perhaps the aerodynamic shape will allow not to face violently the wind. This is what we did with the first expansion of the Colomina hut. This is how we put the site in our favor and take advantage of its qualities. This is bioclimatic architecture. And to materialize the construction, we will prioritize local, renewable and low environmental impact and healthy materials. Here materials such as wood, earth or stone are good materials.
5- Do you feel its possible to build with local materials and wet construction on site? Could this on-site construction be more sustainable in the long term and more durable?
It is feasible to build with materials native to the area, in fact it is ideal. But beware: stone is a good material, yes. But if to join the stones we use synthetic mortars that will permanently stick the stones together, at the time of deconstruction we will no longer have the stone of the site but another synthetic material, foreign to the site.And this conglomeration is what disturbs. Building with dry stone or with natural conglomerate, such as mud (which was used in the past) is a good structural system, but not thermal. The stone is very conductive and does not help to maintain comfort inside during the winter. Wood is easier to join and intertwine at a structural level. We can make roofs and roofs as it has always been done, and all over the world. But it has to be local wood and without chemical treatments because if we import foreign woods and treat them with chemicals, to guarantee durability, we are creating an alien and toxic material. Then it’s not a good option either. We must make the effort to know the materials, know what they are good for and how to build with them. Also know the traditional trades and know-how to get the best out of each material, as well as the conditions of the site without doping or altering these materials. Otherwise they lose the link with the place and their health.
6- What is the value of traditional constructions in high mountains and what are the differences with current constructions?
The value of traditional constructions is that they have usually been able to harness the best of the essence of each building material optimized for that location. This is evolutionary knowledge, accumulated over generations. It is the cultural treasure that allows us to advance and improve, which we must learn before doing anything else. And when we do something, in current constructions, we have to start from what they knew and improve it. For example, the bioclimatism and orientation of traditional buildings is exemplary. But today we can add materials that insulate us from the cold and the heat. We have, for example, large-format glass that allows us to capture the sun and warm us. Only with the sun coming in through the windows. Our ancestors didn’t have that, and we do. We must take advantage of them, and evolve the buildings and their iconic image, with consequences. Today we can build buildings that in winter are more than 26ºC inside, being more than 2,400m high, such as the Ventosa Calvell hut or the Colomina. And we can do it only with the sun that reaches them! If we can make buildings with this level of comfort in extreme areas without external energy, we should be able to do it all over the world. This is a clear and powerful message. And not doing it is irresponsible, knowing that it can be done.
7- In the context of mountain huts, such as the Goûter one, which are often overcrowded, how do you address the environmental challenges arising from the generation of waste, the supply of food and other products necessary for operation?
In a place where you cannot provide the necessary resources for people to develop activities, these buildings should not be built. Just as we do not build underwater cities or heat the beach in winter, there are services that cannot be provided where they cannot be provided. Or be aware of site limitations. All cruises are nonsense, but buying South American apples here, is also nonsense. Or drive to the gym. We are surrounded by nonsense actions that do not make sense. We do them in a society of easy energy drunkenness that we can already see starting to smell like a hangover when some are still buying the drinks to evade. Evade what? We have to slowly learn now that we can still live without being doped, and work with what we have at our disposal without going into energy or financial debt. If we can make this change now because we want to, it is smoother, even pleasant, than not doing it out of necessity when there is no other option and we have neither the time nor the preparation to do it.
*Pictures: Stella Rotger & Josep Bunyesc.
