RAWrchitecture...why is it important?

The industrial/technological revolution has forever changed the way that humans inhabit earth and live their lives.  It has done away with the age of antiquity by creating objects that are designed to be thrown away; it has impressed upon the masses values of quantity over quality; it has transcended all physical borders through the development of complex trading/shipping networks; and it has championed the concept of convenience.  100 years ago, people got their food at a market and it was fresh, and it lasted only a few days.  These days products are shipped overseas in giant shipping containers, then moved across countries in crates and other smaller containers, and by the time the consumer gets it, it is in a small box or plastic containers wrapped in plastic.  These things are designed to last forever, yet are only of use for a very short time.

While this process makes things easy and convenient for consumers, it is incredibly taxing on the environment.  Even worse, most of the waste generated from this time of ubiquitous and unhindered consumption is, for all intents and purposes, non-biodegradable.  If consumption patterns coupled with this poisonous material palette continue there will be no more room and the earth will be a very sick place.  For these reasons, there is a burgeoning need to replace plastics and other non-biodegradable materials with biodegradable alternatives in addition to altering consumption patterns if the earth is to be saved.  But, all that aside, the remains...even if all of the materials of the world were suddenly biodegradable, what do we do with all of the stuff that is already here?

This is where RAWrchitecture comes in.  RAWrchitecture seeks to take the refuse of the industrial/technological revolution that would negatively impact the environment in a landfill or as part of the costly and energy intensive recycling process and use it as RAWmaterial for creating something both positive and new, tectonic and spatial.  RAWrchitecture takes advantage of the simple repetition and quantity of industrial production by creating new tectonic and programmatic relationships while revealing hidden complexities in both form and function.  Lastly, RAWrchitecutre seeks to transform the relationship of the human body and psyche to the products and materials of throw away culture.