The foundations of the extensive research and teaching activities by Muck Petzet was laid 2012 with his work in the German pavilion in Venice: Reduce / Reuse / Recycle. This exhibition, and the adjoining catalogue, not only daringly proposed the 'value of avoidance’ into architecture, but it fundamentally questioned general attitudes of architects and clients as well as the role of architecture in our society. The question of “how to do the right thing with existing architecture and infrastructure?” is deeply connected with general issues of sustainable or unsustainable behaviour.
Muck Petzet started teaching Architecture as Resource at TU Munich in 2012 and since 2014 is an Associate Professor for Sustainable Design at USI Accademia di Architettura di Mendrisio. In his teaching and public activities, i.e. lectures, writings, exhibitions and media appearances, Muck Petzet is advocating a 'radical reuse' strategy: the priority of reuse over new built. His research activities comprise the redefinition of the foundations of sustainable architecture - implementing strategies of avoidance, of sufficiency and behavioural change. He is one of the pioneers in an on-going movement to achieve the recognition of grey (embodied) energy as one of the crucial factors of 'truly sustainable' strategies.
The website originally used for the German pavilion in 2012 (www.reuse-reduce-recycle.de), was reprogrammed in 2016 and launched as an evolving archive of architectural projects with an affirmative attitude towards the existing building stock. The aim is to showcase positive examples and create an open platform for sharing information and inspiring discussion.
www.reduce-reuse-recycle.info ist online!
www.sustainabledesignblog.tumblr.com