Heliocentric Architecture

In one hour, the sun pours more energy on the earth’s surface than the entire world consumes in a year. Being that the sun is a sustainable, renewable, and inexhaustible source for harnessing energy, not using it seems almost counterintuitive. Switzerland’s total energy consumption equaled 794720 TJ in 2022. This is more than eight times the amount from only 70 years ago. Today’s building materials as well as building technology can remedy almost any climatic deficiency. Yet the resources consumed in ‘managing’ our indoor environment are, ironically, one of the most significant causes of outdoor environmental change. Solar architecture isn’t something new, it appeared and disappeared, succeeded and failed and fell in and out of modernity’s discourse according to waves of scarcity and crisis. Heliocentric architecture means the promise of our profession to contribute to environmental problems: not merely to render buildings more energy-efficient but to restructure forms of human engagement. It is about sharing territories of energy and form follows the sun. About everyday technology and a solar choreography. About climatic landscapes rather than sealed off interiors. About experiencing energetic systems and new ways of living. From the single entity to networks of energy, from triple glazing to the gentle breeze, from constant climate to changing atmospheres. From Solar to Polar to....