Many countries in the developing South seek pathways to a sustainable future. Peru-based architecture firm Barclay & Crousse offers a prism on what this looks like, when it is anchored to the specifics of people, climate and place.
Sandra Barclay and Jean Pierre Crousse, co-founders of the firm, are interested the impact of architecture on the human condition, in ways that are both physical and visceral. Their buildings offer experiences of space, time, and light, and seek to connect us to each other and with systems that operate on and beyond site.
The studio, founded in 1994 in Paris and now based in Lima, Peru since 2006, is the recipient of multiple international awards, with projects that are predominantly residential and institutional.
| 00:04:04 | “We need to heal, heal our planet, but we can’t heal our planet if we don’t heal ourselves first, if we don’t change radically the way we live.” |
| 00:05:05 | “I will say that I like the words awareness and consciousness and that for that it’s important to connect your reality with other realities.” |
| 00:08:39 | Designing for sensing and remembering |
| 00:09:07 | “Most societies in this traumatic period of history, they try to heal by forgetting, and I think it’s much deeper and much more difficult, but much more sustainable to heal remembering.” |
| 00:15:19 | The building section as a starting point |
| 00:22:42 | “I think […] the word connection is really related with our work. We are meant to connect people, connect spaces, connect context with the spaces, connect community with and the building or with activities.” |
| 00:25:54 | “We started by the section, the section was driven or driving the project, and then the section should be as intelligent as the plan. The plan should be as intelligent as the section.” |
| 00:27:55 | Choosing materials in context |
| 00:28:27 | “I think the real mistake in that vision of sustainability is that in fact there are no sustainable materials. In fact, there are only sustainable conditions for each material.” |
| 00:32:03 | “We are able to use local people to employ local people for construction. We are not seeking for perfect concrete. […] we like concrete with imperfections.” |
| 00:35:02 | “When you don’t have a very well-organised community and you live in a relatively poor country, buildings should last […] They can be transformed into new things that you haven’t figured out when you were designing. And that’s a quality of sustainability.” |
| 00:43:32 | “I think it has never been more interesting to be an architect than now because we have to go beyond the building in order to understand what we should do.” |
In this episode, Sandra and Jean Pierre discuss several key positions on sustainable design for Peru.
Sandra Barclay and Jean Pierre Crousse are directly involved in the design of each of their projects.First, a building must judiciously use what is available, including climate as resource. Parts of the country experience benign seasons when the outdoors is comfortable. Working with climate, they minimise reliance on electro-mechanical systems that would consume energy for indoor comfort.
They also actively seek out materials that align with local skillsets and tap on availability. In Peru, for instance, the question of timber versus concrete favours the latter because it has a lower environmental impact, is durable and supports the economy.
Second, the section of a building — at the drawing board — is as important as its plan. The intelligence of a solution depends on connectivity. And this starts by understanding the human experience of scale, the porosity of form, access to views, daylight and natural air flows, all of which, together, increase the possibility of social interactions.
Universidad de Piura’s Edificio E promotes informal learning through the casual exchange of ideas between students and teachers in a soothing microclimatic condition.Universidad de Piura’s Edificio E (Piura, Peru), for instance, was designed as a network of social spaces between classrooms to enhance students’ engagement with teachers. To make this possible, these spaces offer a microclimate with pockets of shade, coolness and fresh air.
The facades of Edificio E are equipped with vertical louvers and prefab trellis depending on the orientation in the tropical setting.
The monolithic building is a group of interconnected spaces with varying heights and cantilevered roofs.Third, architecture must seek to heal. And healing starts with the act of remembering (say, past social trauma or damage to ecosystems) and continues with awareness and reflection. Here, architecture offers an opportunity to rethink one’s place in time, through movement, pause and release.
This approach is seen in projects such as Place of Remembrance (Lima, Peru). The building is conceived as a procession. Inside, visitors encounter exhibitions explaining a difficult period of societal trauma; outside, the journey culminates in an open space where they witness the spectacle of nature.
Harmoniously inserted into the terrain, Place of Remembrance offers a public plaza overlooking the Pacific.
The building has simple architectural strategies for acoustic and visual comfort. It also achieves efficiency in the consumption of water and energy.Sandra and Jean Pierre describe their office as a laboratory of sorts where ideas are prototyped and tested. Many of their bigger projects emerge from early experiments in private houses.
Vedoble Houses in Cañete (Peru) experimented with “indoor exteriors”: how to reconcile domestic intimacy with the vastness of nature.This conversation with Barclay and Crousse upends assumptions about what sustainability means, how it looks and what it is made of. In presenting what works for/in Peru, Sandra and Jean Pierre make a case for a regionalist, context-specific approach, one that acknowledges global goals, but nonetheless chooses its own pathway and measures of success.
This episode is brought to you by:
| The Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction The Holcim Foundation helps drive systemic change towards a more sustainable built environment. It was founded in 2003 to define and promote the key principles of sustainability for the construction sector and is committed to accelerating the sector’s transformation so that people and the planet can thrive. The Foundation has investigated various aspects of sustainable construction via a series of roundtables and conferences with international experts. It has also recognised excellent contributions to this field with the Holcim Awards which are considered the world’s most significant competition for sustainable design. Committed to a holistic approach that recognises the equal importance and interdependence of four key goals, the Foundation combines the collective knowledge, ideas, and solutions of our global community of experts with a recognised platform of international competitions to democratise thought leadership for the entire sector. |  |
This episode is brought to you by:
The Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction
The Holcim Foundation helps drive systemic change towards a more sustainable built environment. It was founded in 2003 to define and promote the key principles of sustainability for the construction sector and is committed to accelerating the sector’s transformation so that people and the planet can thrive.
The Foundation has investigated various aspects of sustainable construction via a series of roundtables and conferences with international experts. It has also recognised excellent contributions to this field with the Holcim Awards which are considered the world’s most significant competition for sustainable design.
Committed to a holistic approach that recognises the equal importance and interdependence of four key goals, the Foundation combines the collective knowledge, ideas, and solutions of our global community of experts with a recognised platform of international competitions to democratise thought leadership for the entire sector.
Sandra Barclay trained as an architect in Lima and Paris, and obtained a Master’s degree in Landscape and Territory at the UDP, Chile. She received the Doctor Honoris Causa degree from the University of Piura, Peru, 2018. Her academic experience includes a 16-year tenure as Associate Professor at the PUCP (2006-present), visiting professor at Yale School of Architecture (2019 and 2021) at University of Virginia UVA (2020) and at Harvard GSD (2022). Sandra has received the 2018 Woman in Architecture Award from the London-based Architects’ Journal and Architectural Review. She has been a member of the jury for the 17th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, 2021 and for the 6th International Lafarge Holcim Awards,2020. She was Jury Chair of the Cycle 4 MCHAP (2022-2023). She is an Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and a foreign member of the French Académie d’Architecture. Sandra was co-curator, along with Jean Pierre Crousse, of the Peruvian Pavilion at the 15th Venice Biennale, 2016, which obtained the Jury’s Special Mention.
Jean Pierre Crousse trained as an architect in Lima and Milan. He obtained a Master’s degree in Landscape at the UDP, Chile. He is currently the Director of the Master Program in Architecture at the PUCP, Lima. His academic experience includes teaching at the Paris-Belleville School of Architecture (1999-2006), a 17-year tenure as Associate Professor at the PUCP (2006-present), and visiting professor as Design Critic at Harvard GSD (2015 and 2022), at Yale School of Architecture (2019 and 2021) and at University of Virginia UVA (2020). He is a foreign member of the French Académie d’Architecture.
Barclay & Crousse Architecture was founded in Paris, in 1994, and later moved to Lima in 2006. The practice has been awarded the Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize 2018, the Oscar Niemeyer Prize 2016, the Peruvian National Prize of Architecture in 2014 and 2018, and the Latin America Prize 2013, given by the International Committee of Architectural Critics (CICA), among other international prizes.
E | info@barclaycrousse.com
W | Barclay & Crousse
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| 00:24:33 | “…the middle of Carob tree forest is a tropical…” “Carob Tree” | Food Forest Design |
| 00:30:26 | “…make cement comes from hydroelectrical plants…” “Hydroelectric Power” | Britannica |
| 00:05:34 | “…as Humboldt did, for example…” “Alexander von Humboldt” | Britannica |
| 00:34:35 | “…like the ones that have been studied by Rahul Mehrotra in India…” “Rahul Mehrotra” | RMA Architects |
| 00:39:23 | “…one that was the Peruvian Hugo Chávez…” “Hugo Chávez” | Britannica |
| 00:05:31 | “…of this transversal section of Peru…” “Peru” | Britannica |
| 00:05:39 | “…ocean and go through the Andes…” “Andes Mountains” | Britannica |
| 00:05:43 | “…arrived through the Amazonian basin towards Brazil…” “Amazon basin” | Britannica |
| 00:05:43 | “…arrived through the Amazonian basin towards Brazil…” “Brazil” | Britannica |
| 00:08:58 | “…And so, this building – this Place of Remembrance…” “Place of Remembrance in Lima, Peru by Barclay and Crousse” | The Architectural Review |
| 00:09:40 | “…the cliff that separates Lima…” “Lima” (Peru) | Britannica |
| 00:15:31 | “…this is the UDEP lecture building…” UDEP Lecture Building / BARCLAY&CROUSSE Architecture | ArchDaily |
| 00:31:16 | “…You bring floors from Germany or wood from Chile…” “Germany” | Britannica |
| 00:31:16 | “…You bring floors from Germany or wood from Chile…” “Chile” | Britannica |
| 00:34:35 | “…like the ones that have been studied by Rahul Mehrotra in India…” “India” | Britannica |
| 00:26:31 | “…south vertical louvres will be okay…” “Horizontal vs. Vertical Louvers: Main Uses, Pros and Cons” | United Enertech |
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