Rae’s studio in Edinburgh, I can indulge in celebrating colour through making monotypes, freeing my imagination. Then there’s my way of developing pre-concepts to design concepts by understanding a bit about the way my brain works. I have illustrated this in two diagrams. Plato’s notion of poiesis implies, in the collaborative process of making or creating the beautiful, a movement beyond the common cycle of birth and decay. In the change fromnon-being to being, there is an opportunity for ecstasis through innovation in thought and / or technique. AT: Sustainable architecture and generally speaking virtuous ways of building are deemed fundamental, but they often seem affordable by only a small section of the population — particularly during the current energy and economic crises. Do you think this is true? And if so, how can we change the way things are? IR: I am not sure that we all grasp what virtuous building actually is. For many years “the acceptable face of sustainable design” has been to place wood visibly on the outside of buildings. This is both naïve and disingenuous. Covering surfaces with “living green walls”, whether “pickled” moss or climbing plants, or placing trees on buildings is equally unsustainable. They may improve the air quality close to them, bring a nice ambience to the occupiers or to those who walk by, but generally these natural additions require extra water, nutrients, drainage, These pages: two hand-drawn sketches, by Ian Ritchie himself, illustrate his design process and philosophical thinking. Next pages: art installation Levitas — La terza montagna, by Ian Ritchie, at the Arte Sella open-air museum, in the Trentino region of Italy. Photos by Giacomo Bianchi. 21 ritchie’s recipe for sustainability EXCERPT
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