0:00:04.640,0:00:07.120
I won't talk to you about[br]technological innovation,

0:00:07.120,0:00:11.640
or at least as I imagine it.

0:00:11.640,0:00:16.000
And before telling you a little[br]about what I do,

0:00:16.720,0:00:19.680
I want to tell you a story[br]to make you understand, too,

0:00:20.720,0:00:24.990
that the theme of sustainability is a[br]theme that comes from a long time ago.

0:00:26.440,0:00:27.440
First -

0:00:27.440,0:00:33.880
this tale I want to tell you[br]is a wonderful story.

0:00:35.000,0:00:39.280
Marco Polo crosses from Venice to China,

0:00:39.880,0:00:41.400
and when he arrives in Persia,

0:00:42.000,0:00:46.520
in the heart of Persia,[br]so we're between Iraq and lran,

0:00:47.440,0:00:51.478
a place of deserts, a deadly heat -

0:00:51.478,0:00:53.080
When he arrives in a village,

0:00:54.160,0:01:00.600
the Persians, as a sign of welcome -[br]we're in 1472-73,

0:01:00.600,0:01:04.850
as a sign of welcome[br]they offer him a tamarind ice cream.

0:01:08.660,0:01:11.920
A tamarind ice cream in 1470?

0:01:11.920,0:01:14.920
It's a question which[br]demands an answer.

0:01:14.920,0:01:16.603
How did they eat ice cream?

0:01:17.960,0:01:20.750
This is why it's important[br]to talk about architecture.

0:01:20.750,0:01:24.502
The Persians probably took centuries

0:01:24.502,0:01:27.390
to understand how[br]the science worked, right?

0:01:27.390,0:01:30.120
We're in a period where[br]power didn't exist.

0:01:30.120,0:01:32.486
Then they built this[br]building you can see,

0:01:32.486,0:01:36.040
which is a large wall facing south.

0:01:36.040,0:01:39.880
This wall protected a small,[br]let's call it a swimming pool,

0:01:39.880,0:01:41.704
a small basin.

0:01:41.704,0:01:43.960
And in front of this wall[br]there was a large dome

0:01:44.600,0:01:49.200
that had been obtained[br]by digging a cistern.

0:01:49.200,0:01:51.200
And what did the Persians do?

0:01:52.000,0:01:53.000
At night,

0:01:54.880,0:01:59.760
they deposited a thin layer[br]of water in this pool,

0:02:00.360,0:02:04.600
and since the wall protected[br]that area from the sun all day,

0:02:04.600,0:02:07.200
there was no thermal increase,

0:02:07.200,0:02:09.120
it never heated up.

0:02:09.919,0:02:11.760
As a result of the celestial canopy,

0:02:11.760,0:02:14.270
which, as you know[br]when you travel by plane,

0:02:14.270,0:02:17.920
the captain says, -[br]the outside temperature is -55 degrees -,

0:02:17.920,0:02:22.920
the celestial canopy is -55 degrees[br]and because of celestial radiation,

0:02:22.920,0:02:26.360
in a historical period[br]where there was obviously no pollution,

0:02:26.360,0:02:27.920
the sky was clear

0:02:27.920,0:02:33.690
and because of the celestial radiation,[br]there was this layer of icy water.

0:02:34.520,0:02:36.000
And night after night,

0:02:36.000,0:02:40.280
the Persians removed,[br]they broke this ice

0:02:40.280,0:02:41.915
and put it in this cistern.

0:02:42.840,0:02:46.960
During the summer, + 55 degrees outside,

0:02:48.160,0:02:53.081
there's a dome protecting[br]this great mound of ice[br]

0:02:53.081,0:02:55.680
through a simple[br]principle of ventilation,

0:02:56.200,0:02:57.600
so the sun's radiation

0:02:58.600,0:03:02.360
which became a temperature[br]inside this dome

0:03:02.360,0:03:03.740
was then expelled

0:03:03.740,0:03:07.740
through a system[br]of natural ventilation.

0:03:09.680,0:03:12.870
This is one piece of architecture -[br]out of sadly few - that remains,

0:03:14.120,0:03:17.080
because of war which,[br]besides being a terrible thing,

0:03:17.080,0:03:20.160
also destroys culture.

0:03:21.560,0:03:23.520
This example is an important one,

0:03:23.520,0:03:28.200
because the Persians,[br]despite the great summer heat,

0:03:29.240,0:03:32.410
ate ice cream during the summer,[br]and they offered it to him.

0:03:33.560,0:03:37.000
Perhaps in Rome it would have been[br]called a grattachecca,

0:03:37.000,0:03:43.730
which is crushed ice[br]together with some essences.

0:03:44.300,0:03:47.010
This is an example that it's[br]important to tell you about,

0:03:47.010,0:03:49.800
because we're looking

0:03:49.800,0:03:53.400
at what will happen[br]in the next 30, 40, 50 years.

0:03:53.400,0:03:55.957
Now, to give you an idea[br]of the scale of the problem,

0:03:55.957,0:03:58.600
then you'll understand why[br]I told you about Marco Polo -

0:03:59.760,0:04:01.840
talking about sustainability is important,

0:04:01.840,0:04:06.040
because what's happening[br]is unprecedented in our history.

0:04:06.040,0:04:07.960
Just to give you the numbers:

0:04:09.560,0:04:13.640
today, on Earth, we have built on[br]145 billion square metres,

0:04:13.640,0:04:16.083
and I can't even explain[br]how big that is physically.

0:04:16.083,0:04:18.920
Lots of stuff, lots of stuff.

0:04:18.920,0:04:21.098
But that's not the point.

0:04:21.098,0:04:23.240
The point is that in the next 15 years,

0:04:23.240,0:04:26.714
we will build half as much again[br]as what we've already built.

0:04:26.714,0:04:30.000
This is the scale of the problem.

0:04:30.000,0:04:35.340
73 billion square metres is more or less[br]a billion units of accommodation.

0:04:35.340,0:04:36.800
This is what will happen,

0:04:37.440,0:04:41.360
and what is slowly happening[br]in countries that are growing.

0:04:41.360,0:04:45.680
Maybe Italy has a different problem,[br]but in other countries around the world -

0:04:45.680,0:04:47.200
So, in order to do that,

0:04:47.800,0:04:51.600
that is, to build 75,[br]73 billion square metres,

0:04:51.600,0:04:56.600
we need cement, glass, bricks, lime.

0:04:56.600,0:04:58.481
We need to bring water,

0:04:58.481,0:05:02.360
in some places, we need[br]to provide some cooling,[br]

0:05:02.360,0:05:03.646
like in these pictures,

0:05:03.646,0:05:06.280
which also help us understand[br]the scale of consumption.

0:05:07.320,0:05:10.960
Have we perhaps placed[br]too much trust in technology?

0:05:10.960,0:05:12.237
Because the technology -

0:05:12.237,0:05:14.440
and in this case[br]I'm talking about construction

0:05:14.440,0:05:16.700
not technology in a broader sense -

0:05:17.920,0:05:21.080
Technology for buildings[br]has been a great achievement.

0:05:22.360,0:05:26.320
Because, in the last 50 years,[br]we've been living in buildings

0:05:26.320,0:05:28.840
that no longer have any[br]relationship with the climate.

0:05:28.840,0:05:32.440
It doesn't matter at all if[br]it's hot outside, or cold.

0:05:33.080,0:05:37.240
I've got my air conditioning,[br]with my thermal control.

0:05:37.240,0:05:43.240
See, this technological innovation[br]was a bit like these robots,

0:05:43.240,0:05:46.940
a bit of a dream for mankind;[br]do something against nature.

0:05:47.960,0:05:50.600
But now nature has[br]presented us with a reckoning.

0:05:50.600,0:05:53.400
You wanted high-tech buildings?

0:05:53.400,0:05:56.815
And now we have a series of problems[br]that we've heard about before.

0:05:57.627,0:05:59.840
Which are those of climate change,

0:06:01.040,0:06:02.840
local changes in conditions.

0:06:03.760,0:06:08.446
So, perhaps, also looking at[br]the goals for coming years,

0:06:08.446,0:06:11.040
we have to ask ourselves some questions.

0:06:11.812,0:06:13.640
Now to give you some more simple data,

0:06:14.200,0:06:17.720
every week, one and a half [br]million people move

0:06:17.720,0:06:19.640
from the countryside to the cities.

0:06:19.640,0:06:21.810
This is the movement that's taking place.

0:06:21.810,0:06:24.840
It would also be worth [br]discussing this topic,

0:06:25.840,0:06:28.960
because this huge [br]phenomenon of megacities

0:06:28.960,0:06:31.747
was a great dream,[br]and also a great opportunity,

0:06:31.747,0:06:34.896
but it has also had a few[br]little side effects, hasn't it?

0:06:34.896,0:06:38.065
That's why, if you've ever had[br]the opportunity to see the Biennale,

0:06:38.065,0:06:39.796
we talk about the inner areas,

0:06:39.796,0:06:42.040
that is, they are not metropolitan cities

0:06:42.040,0:06:43.819
because they are cultural deposits.

0:06:45.000,0:06:46.520
What's going on?

0:06:48.520,0:06:51.560
We have before us[br]a road map that was -

0:06:52.080,0:06:56.240
Europe has designed a scenario,[br]and this scenario has no alternative,

0:06:56.240,0:06:57.280
this is the way.

0:06:57.280,0:07:00.680
It has been since 1992,[br]with Rio de Janeiro,

0:07:00.680,0:07:05.460
where every year, for 21 years, there's[br]been a conference on climate change.

0:07:06.600,0:07:10.360
The last agreement, the Paris one,[br]which we would call more successful,

0:07:11.107,0:07:13.320
is also the result[br]of 20 years of discussions.

0:07:13.320,0:07:15.840
But why is time important?

0:07:15.840,0:07:19.240
Because the true theme here[br]is not just climate change,

0:07:19.240,0:07:21.200
which is going to happen in any case,

0:07:21.200,0:07:24.212
whether we want it or not,[br]whatever efforts we make.

0:07:24.212,0:07:27.660
The real change here[br]is cultural change.

0:07:27.660,0:07:30.040
We have to enter another era.

0:07:30.040,0:07:35.720
We're no longer in the era[br]of using fossil fuels.

0:07:35.720,0:07:37.788
We're entering a new era,[br]an ecological era.

0:07:38.520,0:07:40.320
In an ecological era, like this -

0:07:40.320,0:07:45.560
You can see, this map tells us that [br]in 2020, in 2030 we'll have meetings,

0:07:45.560,0:07:46.960
but what's the goal?

0:07:46.960,0:07:51.833
The goal is to reduce[br]greenhouse gas emissions.

0:07:51.833,0:07:54.000
And yet, despite the Paris agreement,

0:07:54.000,0:07:57.640
the indices this year[br]are increasing, not decreasing.

0:07:58.720,0:08:02.580
But then what does the framework tell us?

0:08:02.580,0:08:03.720
I'll talk about it -

0:08:03.720,0:08:06.840
It seems I'm not talking about[br]architecture, but it is important.

0:08:06.840,0:08:10.883
Because the built-up world[br]contributes 70 per cent

0:08:10.883,0:08:13.040
of CO2 emissions[br]from energy consumption.

0:08:13.040,0:08:16.550
So we have absolutely[br]got to talk about it.

0:08:17.080,0:08:19.600
Here they ask us:[br]to reduce CO2 emissions;

0:08:19.600,0:08:21.220
apart from the numbers,

0:08:21.220,0:08:24.320
to make energy savings;

0:08:24.320,0:08:26.520
and from the other side[br]to consume less energy.

0:08:26.520,0:08:28.260
But how are we going to do this?

0:08:28.260,0:08:29.890
Because CO2 can't be seen.

0:08:30.400,0:08:34.800
And in a world of images, something[br]that can't be seen does not exist.

0:08:35.559,0:08:37.720
How do we produce renewable energy?

0:08:37.720,0:08:39.495
And how can we consume less?

0:08:39.495,0:08:44.400
So, perhaps, and this is what seems [br]the most interesting theme to me,

0:08:45.360,0:08:46.880
perhaps we have to go fishing

0:08:46.880,0:08:49.680
right in that enormous cultural deposit

0:08:50.413,0:08:51.520
that is our history,

0:08:51.520,0:08:55.000
where buildings were built[br]when there was no power.

0:08:55.720,0:08:59.260
How did they manage to create[br]wonderful buildings for 2000 years

0:08:59.594,0:09:02.780
when power wasn't one [br]of the basic components?

0:09:03.480,0:09:09.520
This makes me think that the theme of[br]innovation goes back a bit, perhaps -

0:09:10.674,0:09:13.320
perhaps we should look back[br]to see what innovation is.

0:09:13.320,0:09:16.120
If it's just a car,[br]if it's just a programme,

0:09:16.120,0:09:18.120
if it's just a computer.

0:09:18.120,0:09:20.360
Or maybe, in construction or architecture

0:09:21.080,0:09:25.400
we have to find a relationship[br]that I call empathy with the environment.

0:09:26.480,0:09:28.800
So there are some wonderful examples.

0:09:28.800,0:09:31.349
I don't want to bore you[br]with too many things, though,

0:09:32.640,0:09:36.610
for centuries, people have created,

0:09:36.610,0:09:39.540
you might say, complicity[br]with the environment.

0:09:39.540,0:09:42.160
They built - these are windcatchers.[br]

0:09:42.520,0:09:45.880
They take the prevailing wind,[br]they bring it inside the houses,

0:09:45.880,0:09:49.738
they cool the houses at night[br]and in the daytime it's ten degrees lower.

0:09:49.738,0:09:51.920
Now it's clear that we[br]don't want to do this.

0:09:51.920,0:09:55.040
That's the past.[br]I'm not nostalgic,

0:09:55.040,0:09:59.040
nor do I have the idea that the past [br]is always better than the future.

0:09:59.040,0:10:01.640
I believe that the future[br]will always be better.

0:10:01.640,0:10:03.040
But it intrigues me.

0:10:03.040,0:10:05.560
I'm intrigued, for example, [br]by the Pakistanis,

0:10:05.560,0:10:07.640
who make these towers

0:10:07.640,0:10:10.080
with this type of catcher, this kite,

0:10:10.080,0:10:13.520
which collects the wind,[br]channels it into homes,

0:10:13.520,0:10:17.280
and reduces the temperature.

0:10:17.280,0:10:19.200
At night, these houses are cooler,

0:10:19.200,0:10:24.360
and by day - outside it's 50 degrees,[br]inside it's only 42.

0:10:24.360,0:10:27.080
That's a difference of 7, 8 degrees.

0:10:27.760,0:10:31.800
All this makes me think[br]that in there, in these buildings -

0:10:32.760,0:10:36.600
of course we won't make them like that,[br]but some knowledge is hidden in them.

0:10:36.600,0:10:38.400
That is, they knew how to do it.

0:10:38.400,0:10:40.000
They knew how to react.

0:10:40.000,0:10:42.617
So, if Europe is telling me,

0:10:42.617,0:10:45.560
and we are all working with this idea,

0:10:45.560,0:10:48.160
that the buildings of 2020[br]i.e. the day after tomorrow,

0:10:48.160,0:10:50.240
must be at almost zero energy,

0:10:50.920,0:10:55.280
and that should "virtually all" be[br]made with renewable resources,

0:10:55.280,0:10:58.637
the first thing that comes to mind is[br]"I'll study the Pakistanis".

0:10:58.637,0:11:02.434
I'm going to study those that had[br]this complicity with energy.

0:11:02.434,0:11:03.760
And we live in a world

0:11:03.760,0:11:06.405
where we have an opportunity[br]that we never had before.

0:11:07.602,0:11:09.812
Which is precisely that of technology.

0:11:09.812,0:11:13.115
They didn't even have a computer,

0:11:13.115,0:11:16.880
but the Persians, perhaps by [br]doing so many tests,

0:11:16.880,0:11:19.320
realised that at certain times

0:11:19.320,0:11:22.415
this relationship with the environment[br]could be very beneficial.

0:11:22.415,0:11:24.293
i.e. that energy, which was outside,

0:11:24.293,0:11:26.640
was something that could[br]be useful to people;

0:11:27.339,0:11:29.360
it was not against man, but for him.

0:11:30.000,0:11:32.400
We, this thing, we've completely lost it.

0:11:32.920,0:11:37.280
I mean we've completely lost the ability[br]to communicate with the environment,

0:11:37.280,0:11:39.539
because we've had a wonderful dream.

0:11:39.539,0:11:42.366
We said: now, with [br]technology, with machines,

0:11:42.366,0:11:44.040
we can do everything we want.

0:11:44.040,0:11:46.348
You know, what's out there[br]doesn't interest us.

0:11:46.348,0:11:48.574
Look, this doesn't work anymore.

0:11:50.499,0:11:52.760
I like to think that[br]the future of innovation

0:11:52.760,0:11:54.440
is in fact a hybrid thing.

0:11:54.440,0:11:57.370
Maybe there's technology,[br]but there's also knowledge,

0:11:57.370,0:11:59.720
there's also something we could do.

0:11:59.720,0:12:01.880
We knew how to do this, once.

0:12:01.880,0:12:03.880
Another wonderful example.

0:12:03.880,0:12:05.900
This is a story of architects.

0:12:05.900,0:12:08.920
This is a palace in Merhabad.

0:12:08.920,0:12:11.757
Instead of being built above the earth[br]it's dug underground.

0:12:12.840,0:12:15.440
Every ten metres you go down,[br]it also drops one degree.

0:12:16.040,0:12:18.480
And these were the houses,[br]and the squares,

0:12:18.480,0:12:23.765
where the Indians took refuge[br]when it was 60 degrees outside.

0:12:24.695,0:12:26.800
And they were also public places.

0:12:26.800,0:12:29.310
So it was a building in reverse.

0:12:29.310,0:12:30.760
In the semi-darkness.

0:12:30.760,0:12:33.405
the earth - as you know,[br]when you dig up the earth,

0:12:34.040,0:12:36.160
after a few metres[br]the temperature's constant

0:12:36.160,0:12:37.960
around 16, 17 degrees.

0:12:37.960,0:12:41.560
So if I - for this there's an incredible[br]subterranean architecture:

0:12:41.560,0:12:46.120
when I go underground,[br]whatever the temperature outside,

0:12:46.640,0:12:49.560
It's 18, 20 degrees inside.

0:12:49.560,0:12:51.890
The nice thing about this[br]building, if you go -

0:12:51.890,0:12:54.180
it's called Stepwell, in India,

0:12:54.600,0:12:56.840
it turned out so well, this building,

0:12:56.840,0:12:58.520
the Maharaja was so pleased,

0:12:59.690,0:13:02.620
that he killed the six architects[br]who had worked on it.

0:13:04.570,0:13:06.736
And outside the entrance to this building

0:13:06.736,0:13:11.080
there are six tombs, as a form of honour.

0:13:11.080,0:13:14.681
As if to say: it's so beautiful,[br]that you mustn't do it for anyone else.

0:13:14.681,0:13:17.350
You see, these are the risks of the trade.

0:13:17.350,0:13:19.100
(Laughter)

0:13:19.110,0:13:20.690
Today -

0:13:20.690,0:13:24.560
(Applause)

0:13:27.198,0:13:30.009
And here we come back again[br]to the idea of responsibility.

0:13:30.009,0:13:31.520
Because doing this job -

0:13:31.520,0:13:34.978
I always say that architects[br]are very dangerous people,

0:13:34.978,0:13:38.280
because they can build[br]wonderful things

0:13:38.280,0:13:39.819
or they can create nightmares.

0:13:39.819,0:13:42.273
And there are many nightmares,[br]all over the world.

0:13:42.810,0:13:45.126
This is the Camera dello Scirocco,

0:13:45.126,0:13:49.080
where the people of Catania took refuge[br]during the Mediterranean sirocco winds.

0:13:49.080,0:13:53.140
And this room, with natural ventilation,[br]allowed them to stay below.

0:13:53.140,0:13:56.240
Now I will show you[br]two simple things, to finish,

0:13:56.804,0:13:58.680
about the relationship with nature.

0:13:58.680,0:14:01.240
These are the dunes of Algiers,

0:14:02.240,0:14:04.360
and these are stone constructions

0:14:04.360,0:14:07.005
that were made to collect the heat,

0:14:07.005,0:14:10.090
and with the day-night change in humidity

0:14:10.090,0:14:13.520
moisture condensed,around these stones[br]

0:14:13.520,0:14:17.240
and pools were built[br]to provide water for the animals.

0:14:17.240,0:14:20.242
So this was all about the shape.

0:14:20.242,0:14:22.621
This is a building which[br]we're making in Algiers,

0:14:22.621,0:14:23.680
the first building

0:14:23.680,0:14:27.160
which addresses this theme[br]of sustainability of consumption,

0:14:27.160,0:14:30.046
in a country that is the largest[br]gas producer in the world.

0:14:31.680,0:14:37.200
This is a palm tree, and a salt cave,

0:14:37.920,0:14:40.880
out of which came this building,[br]which is in Ghana,

0:14:41.720,0:14:46.440
which we made[br]for a Ghanaian developer,

0:14:46.440,0:14:48.030
and which has become a landmark,

0:14:48.030,0:14:50.680
because it's reconnected some[br]themes that had been lost:

0:14:50.680,0:14:53.480
shade, natural ventilation.[br]

0:14:53.480,0:14:55.720
All themes that have allowed this building

0:14:56.280,0:14:59.800
to function for half the year[br]without any conditioning.

0:14:59.800,0:15:03.213
Just through a passive principle.

0:15:03.213,0:15:04.650
So I like to think

0:15:04.650,0:15:09.040
that maybe the future of our[br]buildings is no longer high-tech,

0:15:09.040,0:15:12.880
that chunky building full of facilities,[br]

0:15:12.880,0:15:17.190
but maybe it's a mediation[br]between knowledge and innovation.

0:15:17.800,0:15:19.920
And I'll finish with this [br]image, a greeting.

0:15:20.940,0:15:24.200
This is a Bedouin with his camel,[br]crossing the desert.

0:15:24.200,0:15:25.440
Oh well.

0:15:25.440,0:15:26.680
That said,

0:15:26.680,0:15:29.680
if I change the point of view,[br]and I'll show you this,

0:15:29.680,0:15:30.834
this isn't a Bedouin.

0:15:31.680,0:15:34.520
It's a doctor who has a camel,

0:15:34.520,0:15:36.680
which has a GPS antenna on its head,

0:15:37.320,0:15:39.040
and has a photovoltaic panel

0:15:39.040,0:15:41.400
that produces energy,[br]which powers a battery,

0:15:41.400,0:15:43.495
which powers a fridge[br]containing medicines.

0:15:43.495,0:15:45.600
You see: here in this image

0:15:45.600,0:15:49.440
there's a hidden idea which[br]we haven't yet understood.

0:15:49.440,0:15:54.240
That, perhaps, the future is this ability[br]to bring together technological innovation

0:15:54.240,0:15:56.717
and ancient knowledge like the world.

0:15:56.717,0:15:58.750
Thank you.

0:15:58.750,0:16:01.680
(Applause)