About “Landscapes of Care” and how contemporary photography can help to heal a broken planet

Abstract

“Architecture in its broadest sense provides shelter indispensable to the continuation
of human life and survival. This is evidently a form of care. Yet historically, architecture
has not been considered a form of caring labor. Despite this fundamental function
of architecture to provide protection for humans from sun, wind, snow or rain, and
to give the support necessary for maintaining the vital functions of everyday living,
the idea of the architect is linked to autonomy and independent genius rather than
connectedness, dependency, social reproduction and care giving.”
Elke Krasny¹

“(...) architects have no time to lose to work on alternative models that offer paths to
reach social equity within the continued intense metropolitanization of settlement
structures. Given the changing nature of societies, more differentiated forms of cohabitation;
greater demand for closer spatial relations of work-living-recreation;
the renewal of urban farming; decentralized forms of harvesting renewable energy;
leaner and smaller production facilities; all these transformations should lead
to a change in the conventional zoning of uses; to a search for building and urban
typologies that may be grafted on as much as possible to existing fabric and that will
yet liberate future generations from the burden of the suburban era.”
Wilfried Wang²

With this 7th Volume of Sophia Journal we initiate our third thematic cycle “Landscapes of Care”, addressing contemporary photography and visual practices that focus on how architecture understood in a wide sense can help to heal a broken planet³. The concept of landscapes of care has increasingly been adopted by diverse areas of study, from health geography to the arts and architecture⁴. It allows us to understand architecture, city and territory as living and inclusive organisms⁵, constituted by multifaceted landscapes with complex social and organisational spatialities⁶, as well as exploring the concepts of space and place for care within a transdisciplinary research environment⁷.

Significant changes are taking place in diverse physical spaces all around the world and the world is growing in complexity as Daniel Innerarity8 points out. For this complex world of post-politics ideals, we need ambitious visions for the future and at the same time to trigger operational paths that are able to reform society, in a creative and collaborative manner, towards a better world.

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