GROUNDWORK : TO BUILD LAW
A FILM BY THE CCA AND FOLLOWS bplus.xyz (b+) AND station.plus (s+) AS THEY ESTABLISH A POLICY LAB, HOUSE EUROPE!
Online Film and Exhibition
To Build Law by Joshua Frank
Psarokokalo is proud to collaborate with the Canadian Centre for Architecture to publicly stream To Build Law, the second installment of a three-part film and exhibition series showcasing the conceptual development and fieldwork of contemporary architects. Follows bplus.xyz (b+)and station.plus (s+) as they establish a policy lab, HouseEurope.eu, to propose industry reforms and shift cultural norms.
According to a 2020 report by the UN Environment Programme, the construction industry accounts for at least 38 per cent of carbon emissions globally, operating
with narrow methods geared toward profit. Buildings are held as assets, torn down, and redeveloped, with limited consideration of community and environmental
impacts. Meanwhile, housing crises escalate. Evidently, a systemic shift in the way we build and value our built environment is urgently needed.
The documentary To Build Law conceived by Francesco Garutti and directed by Joshua Frank, follows bplus.xyz (b+) and station.plus (s+) as they establish a policy
lab, HouseEurope!, to propose industry reforms and shift cultural norms. To Build Law closely observes the b+ team during various phases of conceptualization and
development of a European Citizens’ Initiative meant to incentivize renovation over demolition and new construction. Through this bottom-up legal tool, architecture
becomes an open process of establishing partners, drafting legislation, filming stories, strategizing communications, coordinating campaigns, collecting votes, and
building a movement.
To Build Law is the second chapter of Groundwork, a three-part film and exhibition series exploring the conceptual development and field research of contemporary
architects cultivating alternative modes of practice.
TEASER
b+ is a collaborative architecture practice that evolved from the eponymous studio of Arno Brandlhuber. With additional partners Olaf Grawert, Jonas Janke, and
Roberta Jurčić, the office rebranded as a statement of collective thinking. Together with political scientists, writers, economists, filmmakers, lawyers, artists, students at
station.plus (Institute for Design at the Department of Architecture, ETH Zurich), and other collaborators, b+ works toward the social and ecological transformation of
the built environment.
FILM
To Build Law
2024 | 49 min.
Digital film
Curator: Francesco Garutti
Curatorial Assistant: Irene Chin
Research: Matthew Kalil
Graphic design: HIT
Design development: Sébastien Larivière, Anh Truong
Films directed by Joshua Frank