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Occupying an unassuming block in Oxford, the Library of Things sidesteps the culture of disposable consumerism
with a collection of goods that can be hired for a r easonable price. I t is run by J\llaurice Herson on a voluntary
basis and aims to reframe our unhealthy relationship with stuff
in common, rather than private ownership.
Community Land Trusts go a step further, sep arating the value
of buildings, and even entire streets, from their monetary price.
Land, including any houses on it, is owned in trust by an
independent NGO whose constitution prevents it from exploiting
its residents or speculating on the value of the structures it owns.
The trusts are legal vehicles which force buildings to be managed
in accordance with their value as homes, locking out the option
of converting them to cash. In a recent Labour Party report 'Land
for the 1!I:any', ecologist George :Monbiot and his co-authors propose
a Common Ground Trust, a non-profit institution that buys the land
underneath homes, making property affordable by protecting it from
ever inflating land values.
These are examples of conventional buildings used in non-liquid
ways, but architecture itself can become a tool to decouple
a building's value from its price tag - for example, by exploring new
material strategies. With only a decade until the atmospheric carbon
dioxide reaches an irreversible tipping point, every effort must
be made to cut emissions quickly. However, despite the urgency,
durable materials which can last for many decades are still
frequently specified despite their often higher embodied carbon than
lower impact, less hard-wearing materials. This harmful preference
for longevity over periodic maintenance is a pathology driven in part
by the instinct to make architecture a form of general-purpose
money. We make a connection between the solidity of a building's
fabric and t he stability of it as a financial asset.
A roof requiring seasonal maintenance might be beautiful,
breathable and harmless to the planet, but its rhythm of erosion
and repair makes it less static and so less liquid. A design strategy
that embraces, rather than snub s, low-impact high-maintenance
materials could not just dramatically cut construction-associated
emissions but help to reframe the conception of architecture.
To actively embrace maintenance, rather than avoid it, would mean
a r adical change in the material culture of construction. ' Ve should
embrace thatch, adobe, hemp lime and other plant-based and
natural materials with vigour, not in spite of their need for frequent
maintenance, but because of it.
:Mali's Great Mosque in Djenne, first built in around the 13th
century and rebuilt in 1907 , is covered with protruding bundles
of palm sticks. These toron posts are not just decorative but also
act as permanent scaffolding for repairing the mud facade every
year. The toron's dual purpose as both ornament and celebration
of repair is a rich architectural idea celebrating the constancy of care
and unfolding history of materials. The facade of the mosque,
like the worshipper's relationship ·with God, is never complete
and should constantly be topped up.