Joana Rafael is an architect and researcher working on ecological issues related to pollution and contamination in buildings and territories, with a particular interest in the material conditions of construction and environmental contamination. Her research investigates the materiality and limits of physical infrastructures in relation to Earth systems, as well as human–nature relations mediated by dynamics of human impact, with particular attention to radiological contamination. In parallel, she develops a practice of collaboration with artists, research and writing, as well as consultancy on projects in the fields of architecture, art, and ecology. Joana has taught courses related to Contemporary Culture at institutions including ESAP, ISCE Douro, Central Saint Martins, and the University for the Creative Arts. She is a member of CEGOT and CEAA, and co-founder of REFINERY BOARD. Joana holds a Master’s degree in Architecture and Urban Culture from Metropolis, as well as a Master’s in Research Architecture and a PhD in Visual Culture from Goldsmiths, University of London. She also obtained a specialization certificate in Healthier Materials and Sustainable Construction from Parsons School of Design. She is currently completing a Master’s in Visual Arts Education. Alongside her academic work, Joana is a farmer.
Building Risk Reserves
MASTERCLASS
Toward a Theory of de Facto and Fictional Conservation(ist) Regimes Masterclass
Presented in Escuelita, Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo (CA2M), Madrid, Spain
This masterclass 1. problematises the construction of the planet through the logic of the reserve; 2. attempts to construct a theoretical framework necessary to address the way of managing and organising (things in) space exposing architecture and the reserve fragile limits and, ultimately, cementing them as fictions; and 3. calls for new methodological approaches.
Reserve arrangements intended to act as architectural solutions; agents or safeguards for the future and safety of (human) life on the planet, contrarily to what they are set out to do, have created a unique geography of problematic and open, rather than closed and controlled spaces. In recent years, interest in these spaces has made visible the vulnerability of our general laws of action upon the planet and in relation to the future. This interest is increasingly related to the fact that many extant reserve arrangements have resulted in the production of unwelcome situations. However, and most ironically, it increasingly relates to the fact that many of these very arrangements are nonetheless still presented as solutions to offer environmental and ecological security and safety.
In this paper, I will explore how these reserve arrangements are informed by: 1. present/real dangers; 2. (inspired by campaigns) destined to cope with our fears and hopes and to guarantee a future free from risk; and 3. mobilized as means to impose limits with limits of its own. To do so, I will describe forms of housekeeping that extend to the whole planet, and that are helpful to understand the struggle for security undertaken via reserve arrangements.
