For centuries, we were focused on optimizing for our needs. We would go for the solution that required the least amount of time, effort, or thought, and provided the greatest amount of immediate benefit. Even the great utilitarian trend that swept across architecture following World War II can be placed into this category. While many great minds pounced on the opportunity presented by the clean slate of Reconstruction to rethink how we built things, this great rethinking was principally to serve human purposes.
In the late twentieth century, however, we've begun to be more thoughtful about how we build. Our construction reflects a new desire to optimize for the Earth's needs. With the climate changing and pollution spreading, Mother Nature's fragility has become a new factor in how we plan new construction projects. New focus has been placed on renewable materials, minimizing waste, and building carbon-neutral.
Nevertheless, this phase is oftentimes quite wasteful, because it hinges on replacement. The visions of current architects and engineers are still founded on a clean slate. When a building is bad for the Earth, we think immediately to demolish and replace it with something newer and better. Which is why phase three will be better.
Phase three reposes on taking the old, sub-par stuff that's already there, and fixing it. The end result is at first sight sub-optimal, but the material, cost, and time efficiencies afforded by this recycling far outweigh what could have been achieved by demolishing and starting over with a clean slate.
Think of it in terms of cars. Phase one thinking would involve building the fastest, most reliable car, without thinking about how much gas it guzzles. Phase two thinking would involve designing a hybrid, or electric car. Phase three thinking would involve taking a gasoline car, and thinking "what is the best way to transform this car into a moderately functional hybrid or electric car?"
I believe we are on the cusp of entering phase three.
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