The End of the World and Architecture

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Sustainability is defined as meeting our current needs without compromising the needs of future generations. The question remains, however, how far into the future must we plan for? Our universe is almost 14 billion years in age, and scientists predict that it will live on at least another 14 billion years, whereby it will approach finality in either a “Big Crunch” singularity, or continue expanding until it becomes complete darkness – “The Big Chill”. Sustainability, therefore, becomes a relative concept – even before our universe ceases to exist. From cosmic supernovas, black holes, and collisions with asteroids to earth-bound disasters such as nuclear holocaust, natural resource depletion, and biological/genetically engineered pathogens, humanity is indeed in danger of becoming extinct. Maybe our fate is inevitable and such events are simply too large for us to comprehend, and simply are “out of sight and out of mind.” Or maybe thinking on such a grand scale will make the more imminent dangers our planet faces seem more solvable. In examining disasters of such magnitude, it will become imperative for architecture to transform its pedagogy and expand its expertise in order to provide sustainable solutions that will preserve humanity’s existence. In recent times, there has been a focused concentration on designing green buildings and utilizing renewable sources of energy – all of which are in some way derived from the sun. This paper takes this a step further and asks, what will happen when there is no sun? What will happen when all of resources that we rely on to live are depleted? Although these events may be millions or even billions of years away, should we be concerned with them now? In order to truly engage sustainability, we must examine not just the “immediate” future, but also the “distant” and “very distant” future.