Material #24: Les Matérialistes
Participatory futurism for building materials in Quebec and beyond
A group of organizations in Canada have put participatory futurism to great use in imagining Quebec in 2050, after a complete transformation in the way humans use building materials.
Their 11 minute film - “Les Matérialistes” - sets out the vision and invites responses and ideas for making it a reality. It calls for an “evolution in the stories humans tell about what matter is, and why it matters”.
Currently - i.e. 25 years before the future in the video - construction processes are pushing the planet to its limits. Construction is responsible for about half of all materials extracted, half of energy use, a third of waste, and a third of water use globally.
Some of the transformations in the 2050 vision are:
cities organized around the collection, organization and deposit of materials, with re-use stores replacing hardware stores and a growing profession of material brokers
fewer cranes on skylines as existing buildings are put to full use
a global materials act that regulates patterns of use across boundaries
legal personhood for the forests surrounding cities
and new ways to measure how materials are used and valued
Watch the film in French or English and share your ideas on the project website.
The film is a collaboration between RECYC-QUÉBEC, Architecture Sans Frontières Québec (ASFQ), Dark Matter Labs and Les Interstices.
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This Friday I’ll hone in on the social dimensions of climate action - including material transformation - in the built environment when I speak at the virtual World Sustainable Built Environment Conference.
See also:
Copper transitions - re-wiring our approach to climate change
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Through 2024, It’s Material is sharing one use of the word “material” each week, on Tuesdays.