Articles by Clara Ott

Temporary pavilions and installations, such as those used in events, exhibitions, or festivals, present themselves as a great challenge when addressing the circular economy in architecture due to their ephemeral condition. It seems contradictory to address resource management and try to extract the maximum value from the materials and minimize waste and pollution while designing a structure that is meant to be used for a limited period of time. However, there are several strategies to rethink the way we are designing these structures in order to promote circularity.

Casa Majalca is a sustainable housing project in a privileged location with excellent views of rock formations characteristic of the area.

This single-family home is located in the closed neighborhood of El Rodeo, La Calera, which is part of a succession of suburban closed neighborhoods located to the west of the city of Córdoba, with the idea of living with greater security and contact with nature, just a few minutes from the city.

“There, if the mud is soft,
sings its sincere joy.
I would like to be a ovenbird
and make my hut singing.

As its house is the center
of all love and skill,
he takes it out of his head
and puts his heart inside.

He works it in straw and mud,
he works it beautifully,
that in mud and straw
is a bizarre architect.”

“El Hornero” – Leopoldo Lugones

This is a story that began in the Swiss mountains as an echo of the writings of the Swiss novelist Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz. This plot gave birth to Antoine, a peculiar architectural creature that welcomes many nomadic inhabitants and nature enthusiasts since 2014, offering them shelter inside the figure of the boulder. The story continues, becoming a short series with the appearance of a new member, Thérése, built in 2022.

Greenpoint lies at the northernmost tip of Brooklyn where Newtown Creek meets the East River. The neighborhood—sometimes called “Little Poland”—has historically consisted of low-rise townhouses with industry at its waterfront edges. The industrial border, which included shipbuilding, rope-making, and more toxic activities such as petroleum refinement, cut the neighborhood off from the East River.