Reuse / Spolia (18.08.2021) - Department of Architecture

New houses, new cars, new clothes, new cell phones… The list could go on. For at least a century, we have been constantly told that everything new is better, more beautiful, cleaner, healthier, and more and more. And we, speeding along a highway of consumption with no speed limit in our latest model vehicles, are ecstatic. We don't realize that this feeling of soaring is due to the wheels losing contact with the ground and that we are about to veer off the road and crash into a tree (if there is a tree there, of course!). Yet, that very tree, nature itself, is constantly sending us warning signals. Just consider the current forest fires and floods. Is there an exit from this path? The last exit before the big accident? It is clear that, as scientists, environmental activists, and some politicians around the world have stated, a radical paradigm shift is needed for salvation. In this context, examining past societies and their production and consumption practices can be useful in recognizing and demonstrating the existence of other (and applicable) approaches. Ancient architecture and the construction industry offer rich examples in this regard.