Join us for a talk by Philippe Rahm around his latest book, Climatic Architecture, published by Actar.

The form of cities and buildings was traditionally based on climatic and health considerations such as exposure to wind and sun or variations in temperature and humidity. These fundamental concerns of architecture and urban planning were increasingly ignored in the second half of the twentieth century as heating and air conditioning systems, pumps and refrigerators became more and more prevalent.

Faced with the climatic challenges of the twenty-first century—partly resulting from these climate technologies—Philippe Rahm Architectes propose to reset the discipline of architecture on its intrinsic atmospheric qualities: air, light, heat, and humidity are recognized are real materials of building, while convection, thermal conduction, evaporation, emissivity, and effusiveness become design tools for composing architecture and cities and are able to revolutionize aesthetic and social values.

Climatic Architecture is a book about climate and architecture, both a manifesto for a climatic architecture to face global warming and a treatise on the art of building atmospheres.

This event is open to the public and will be held in the Shaughnessy House, no reservation needed.