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Lo-TEK : design by radical indigenism / Julia Watson ; foreword, Wade Davis.

by Watson, Julia, 1977- author.

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Cologne : Taschen, [2020]

Vernacular architecture.

Architecture -- Environmental aspects.

Sustainable architecture.

9783836578189 (paper over board : hardback) :

3836578182 (paper over baord : hardback)

418 pages : illustrations (some color), maps, plans (some color) ; 25 cm

Introduction: The mythology of technology -- Waru Waru agricultural terraces of the Inca, Peru -- Jingkieng Dieng Jri living root bridges of the Khasis, India -- Palayan rice terraces of the Ifugao, Philippines -- Subak rice terraces of the Subak, Bali -- Milpa forest gardens of the Maya, Mexico -- Kihamba forest gardens of the Chagga, Tanzania -- Surangam underground aqueducts of the Malayali, India -- Waitiwina dams of the Enawene-nawe, Brazil -- Apete forest islands of the Kayapo, Brazil -- Waffle gardens of the Zuni, New Mexico -- Boma corrals of the Maasai, Kenya -- Qanat underground aqueducts of the Persians, Iran -- Anok corrals of the Ngisonyaka Turkana, Kenya -- Totora reed floating islands of the Uros, Peru -- Al-Tahla floating islands of the Ma'dan, Iraq -- Bheri wastewater aquaculture of the Bengalese, India -- Acadja aquaculture of the Tofinu, Benin -- Sawah Tambak rice-fish aquaculture of the Javanese, Indonesia -- Conclusion: Constructing a new mythology.

"Three hundred years ago, intellectuals of the European Enlightenment constructed a mythology of technology. Influenced by a confluence of humanism, colonialism, and racism, this mythology ignored local wisdom and indigenous innovation, deeming it primitive. Today, we have slowly come to realize that the legacy of this mythology is haunting us. Designers understand the urgency of reducing humanity's negative environmental impact, yet perpetuate the same mythology of technology that relies on exploiting nature. Responding to climate change by building hard infrastructures and favoring high-tech homogenous design, we are ignoring millennia-old knowledge of how to live in symbiosis with nature. Without implementing soft systems that use biodiversity as a building block, designs remain inherently unsustainable. Lo-TEK, derived from Traditional Ecological Knowledge, is a cumulative body of multigenerational knowledge, practices, and beliefs, countering the idea that indigenous innovation is primitive and exists isolated from technology. It is sophisticated and designed to sustainably work with complex ecosystems. With a foreword by anthropologist Wade Davis and four chapters spanning Mountains, Forests, Deserts, and Wetlands, this book explores thousands of years of human wisdom and ingenuity from 20 countries including Peru, the Philippines, Tanzania, Kenya, Iran, Iraq, India, and Indonesia. We rediscover an ancient mythology in a contemporary context, radicalizing the spirit of human nature."--

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