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Building Extinction

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The Building Extinction a project, running from 2025 to 2028, aims to make visible the large-scale demolition of buildings, or building extinction, as a phenomenon comparable to species extinction. The building stock and its demolition waves directly affect the state of the biosphere and should be understood as part of the ecosystem. Entire eras are disappearing from our landscapes, as schools, shopping centers, healthcare buildings, and even churches from the latter half of the 20th century vanish. 

Building extinction draws its analogy from species extinction: just as biodiversity is dwindling, the diversity and cultural layers of the built environment are also under threat. The health and life cycle of buildings can be compared to living organisms, and their destruction is a societal and ecological crisis.

At the same time as new construction consumes nearly half of the world's raw materials and produces a third of greenhouse gas emissions, demolition continues at an accelerating pace. For the planet to remain habitable, buildings must shift from being sources of emissions to becoming carbon sinks, and this requires both making new construction sustainable and preserving what has already been built on a large scale.

Töölön sairaala
Töölön sairaala, purettu 2024. Kuva: Helsingin kaupunginmuseo.
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Project team

Building Extinction is a team made up of architects and researchers from various fields.

The four-year Building Extinction project is funded by the Kone Foundation.

Rakennuskato-hanke on KONEen säätiön rahoittama.
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