Mr. Browne, what do you think of the way light and ventilation concepts are used by architects? There is a lot to think about regarding light and how it is used. Obviously, everybody likes light. We as architects like big glass surfaces a lot. We love to look outside and have ‘that’ relation with the exteriors. We want the building to look “clean” and we could solely regard aesthetics, but at the same time we ask ourselves if we perhaps are abusing this tool. When you have so much sun and it comes to you directly in your face, obviously you want to move in another room, in a place where the sun doesn’t come and the big glass surface loose its utility.
If you think about the measurements of light we are using in houses and in office buildings there is always an uncertainty attached to our calculations and that may have big consequence in regard to saving energy. The aim is to find equilibrium. The same goes for heating. To retract heat from inside a building is very expensive. Architecture is a complex act. You don’t just work with different tools to give good characteristics to projects; you must know how to work well with them too. You must know how to measure them. For example, to have a house in a good location is the least people expect, and a badly placed bedroom without good light is the worst. There is still a lot to study about environment and inside comfort.
Concepts of eco-architecture and care for the environment belong – mostly – to a perception of architecture full of resources. However, in lots of places globally, people who plan and build cities are developers who work differently. Do you think that these concepts of eco-architecture and care for the environment could be integrated into the real estate business in the near future? Could we give value to this kind of thinking?
In the near future? Maybe not so near. But they can merge with each other. It is something that will happen in due time, I believe, and it will depend on the market. Developers know that natural factors like good lighting
improve life quality and people appreciate that. To have trees and plants in your near surroundings, to have your environments well illuminated and well ventilated, basically to have an appropriate comfort inside, all of this gives an extra “plus” when you need to sell a building. It is the same situation with streets: Contrary to Paris e.g., here in Chile a good street is made with good trees. If you take out the green element the streets don’t work any longer. That is the solution! Let’s plant trees! There are things which don’t have any substitute, such as trees. It is not just a problem with real estate; it is an issue with public politics too.
What is the importance of these concepts? Look: people like squares, gardens and parks. We are looking at our surroundings all day long. I had a friend living in the United States for many years. He worked in a big office building, very modern with plenty of technology and he always said: “this is exasperated. I never know the time. As the day passes and temperature decreases outside, meanwhile, the building makes sure that temperature increases inside. If there is less light outside, the building produces more light too. You never have a real change. You are always in the same situation. We constantly have 22C° inside, winter or summer. I never know the time. I don’t feel it. Even my car maintains me in a bubble and arriving to my house I shut myself in again”. We as humans are used to living and breathing the rhythms of nature and when we separate us from nature, we feel it strongly. It is important that architecture doesn’t separate us from nature and its process’.
You are an architect with a large experience in Chile; what would be the great contribution of Latin-American students of architecture?
Here in Chile the presence of nature is very strong contrary to how many Europeans live – coexisting with an artificial environment – beautiful, but altered by man. In Chile we can go to our long coast in maximum two hours of driving, and have the magnificent view of the Pacific Ocean – a tremendous landscape. Or we can go and climb the mountains the same day. Everything is near.
We are packed with eye catching natural wonders: we have the desert, Patagonia, the Andes Mountains. Humans have made many changes in so many parts of the world, so what we have here is luxury. This is inside the mind of Latin-American people. We need this. For example, when the holidays arrive, desperate people run to take some fresh air, to nature. Our input as architects can start there. Instead of working with mechanical or artificial resources or even super sophisticated resources, we need to rethink the nature elements and use them as tools to obtain the same aims: sustainable architecture on one hand, and make architecture close and kind to people on the other hand.