Manifesto

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The lost sensibility.

 

We are animals. Humans have the capacity to smell, sense, taste, touch, hear and see. When we are in a place, our bodies are constantly feeling, and they remember. Our senses are always awake, and a part of us learns. 

 

Our daily experiences are what composes our life. It is our common knowledge. People, buildings, nature. 

Here comes our modern world. Enlightenment, Modernity, Modernism, Domination. It colonised the world, shaped our societies and our lives. It disconnected us from our land, our nature, our daily learnings. It brought new ways of learning and communicating, but through our felt experiences : sensing, smelling, feeling, … Emotions, intuitions, have been placed as secondary.

 

But are they not the things that make us alive, that can keep us alive ?

 

Creating new ecosystems.

 

Can Animals, Nature, and Humans live holistically again ?​ We see our role as architects as reimagining the relationship we build with Animals and Ecosystems - in a world dominated by man made infrastructures.

 

Today, the original natural form of most territories' have long disappeared. We Humans have transformed landscapes for the needs of our societies. We have spread urbanized settings and monoculture for economical profit. We cut off forests, dried wetlands and ripped mountains. Now we live in those damaged landscapes, and rarely realise that other species find refuge near us - and that we depend on each other :

 

Humans need other species to survive and thrive in a post-wild world. And today all species depend on us to live : the built form and artificial landscapes have become the normalised home for many mammals, insects or plants, whose natural habitats have drastically disappeared or are being relentlessly damaged, with intensive agriculture, urbanisation, pesticides, pollution, loss of food and water sources. 

 

With this understanding, we perceive the built form as an opportunity to adapt and transform these places for a better cohabitation.  Architectural projects can perhaps contribute to a reborn ecosystem, offer a better chance for the fragile survival of some species. Listen to ecosystems and learn from them. 

 

In Coquille we are investigating what are those necessary architectural tools for creating equality between ecosystems, the built environment, and building users. Our projects are shaped by the state of the surrounding environment, and we aim to develop practical solutions and a playful narrative language, both drawing inspiration from Nature, to tell stories about Nature. Our projects aim to offer stimulating and sensory experiences for humans, and solutions and care for Animals. 

 

We work intensely towards shifting Humans perceptions and creating architecture focused on all living species. We believe that the transformative power of aesthetics and symbolic gestures can arouse awareness and curiosity in us Humans, guiding our interactions with animals, plants, and our planet. We want to bring Humans to live next to a fragile world again. Bring people to live together with nature.

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Studio Coquille