Habitus Magazine | Issue 33

For this inspiring individual, whose work you can discover on page 55, this disconnection is the root cause of all conflict – personal, interpersonal, societal and political. Coming to this belief, as he does, from a war-torn background and via a rigorous meditation practice, makes his statement all the more humble, yet compelling.

Nghia has chosen to respond to this problem of disconnection through his architecture, with a mission to ‘green the cities’ of his homeland. Project by project, bamboo pole by bamboo pole, he is encouraging clients, developers, committees and government organisations to make the environment an equal beneficiary of the architecture they commission him for. Nghia is part of a growing body of architects, designers, artists and other creatives who have distilled their practice into a very simple environmental philosophy. Joost Bakker is another. Passionately advocating a ’zero-waste’ policy for houses, restaurants and entire cities, his own home (page 40) is an experiment, from which he is eagerly and generously sharing the findings through an open-source concept he calls Future Cave. Joshua Yeldham, is another. Whether fine art, film or book (page 68), his creations are all intricately bound within the experience of natural landscapes.

It’s clear that the environment needs all of us on its team – not just the creative professionals we feature in this issue– to rediscover a way of being that is more harmonious. We can take inspiration from these heavy hitters, but there is no need to be intimidated, because the journey towards reconnection can begin in minute and subtle ways. From the simple act of bringing plants, or natural materials, into your own home, or even just living more in step with the natural rhythms of day and night, we can start to patch the disconnect in small, but meaningful ways. See our feature on page 83 for more ideas.

There are some changes afoot at Habitus. Taking our cue from nature, we too are moving into a new phase. We look forward to continued growth, while remaining secure in our foundation of sharing high quality, meaningful architecture and design stories across the Region. Thanks, as always, for your support.

Nicky Lobo | Editor