The Architecture of Necessity

The Norwegian architecture firm, TYIN Architects won The European Prize for Architecture for their humanitarian work designing and building with community participation in poor and underdeveloped areas in Africa and Asia. The firm was established in 2008 as a not-for-profit humanitarian design organization and is connected to the Norwegian University of Science and Technology where the two architects graduated and still teach. The office has completed projects in the poor and underdeveloped nations of Thailand, Burma, Haiti, Uganda, and Sumatra, as well as designing and building in the vernacular tradition of their native Norway. TYIN's key aspect of an 'architecture of necessity' is about decisions that have real consequences for real people now, but also in the future, and the involvement of local people in projects that ensure a valid connection with culture, philosophy, and the vision of the inhabitants. "Architecture should be a vehicle for social change, social improvement, and real cultural development," states Christian Narkiewicz-Laine, "and not an end result of over-commercialization, over-consumption, and self- aggrandizement, which is so overwhelmingly apparent in our contemporary world." He adds: "The example of these Norwegian architects is paramount in the coming decades for the Third World's greater success at sustainability, urbanization, and social development, which contributes substantially to our world's pursuit of true and lasting global peace, harmony, and prosperity."

Soft Cover: Perfect Bound
Pages: 172
ISBN: 0-935119-49-3

Publication Date: 2014