a roundtable discussion at BIO27 in Ljubljana, 23.10.2022

How can physical comfort be achieved when the world is on fire? For decades, people have entrusted their well-being to technology: central heating and air-conditioning have helped regulate the temperature and humidity inside homes, relying on global energy transmission. Today, comfort is in decline, energy supply chains are breaking up, and living conditions are growing increasingly unstable. How can we create agreeable living environments in times of manifold crises? Can vernacular and premodern architecture become a source of inspiration for shaping microclimates in our homes and cities?

The discussion explores the state of design after the end of comfort. 

Participants:
Daniel A. Barber, Professor of Architecture at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS)
⁠Aleksandra Kędziorek, an architecture historian and curator
⁠Sascha Roesler, Associate Professor for Theory of Urbanization and Urban
Environments at the Academy of Architecture in Mendrisio, Switzerland
⁠Zala Velkavrh, non-profit urban design studio Prostorož

Curator:
Aleksandra Kędziorek, art and architecture historian, curator and editor

Moderator:
⁠Bor Pungerčič, arhitect, writer and editor

The event is organized by BIO27, the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, Poland, and the Pekinpah Association, Slovenia. The event is also a part of expanding the theme of the exhibition “The Clothed Home: Tuning in to the Seasonal Imagination” presented at BIO27 and the upcoming Lisbon Architecture Triennale 2022.