What should an EMI Architecture stand for?

EMI Tech — March
article by Jorge Agüero Lewis John Pillar

EMI's four-stage process for electrical engineering projects. Learning from the forensic diagnosis of distressed CEB buildings in West Africa. Beyond septic tanks. These are some of the 'normal' subjects for EMI Tech, so you can imagine our apprehension when we were asked to write 'Towards an EMI Architecture.' Those four words are enough to conjure up memories of famous manifestos from the likes of Le Corbusier in the mid-twentieth century. Before we can even begin to address the technical aspects of an EMI Architecture, we need to ask what an EMI Architecture should look like. What should we stand for? What should we aspire to?

Born in 1982, EMI has just turned 35. Over these years, the world of architecture has changed dramatically. We have seen sweeping changes socially, economically, and environmentally and we have seen dramatic advances in technology and construction. Around the world more buildings than ever are sustainable, affordable, and transformational. What, then, makes EMI different? What makes us unique?

EMI Volunteer Architect Sabrina Ortiz Luna embraces Keren's story at Tesoros de Dios. Keren who has received physical therapy and educational support at Tesoros de Dios since she was four months old, now shares her hopes and dreams of what the expansion of the centre could look like. Photo by Christa Brunt, Nicaragua, 2016.
Getting the diverse Tenwek Hospital Surgery team together for a meeting was very hard. However, it gave the EMI team a wealth of information about how their unit and culture functions within the hospital space. Photo by Connor Crist, Kenya, 2015.

To us, the answer lies not in our architectural work of plans, details, and renderings, but rather in our architectural approach. EMI is a global organisation with a local perspective, working on projects all over the world. On each project, we strive to work within the local context to design and construct culturally-appropriate facilities. We do this because we believe that architecture is at its best when we, as architects, think beyond simply buildings and embrace the people and the stories that we find there. We are passionate about an architecture that is coloured by its surroundings: An architecture that tells people's stories and gives voice to their vision. It is the architecture of community, and it is about bringing people into relationship and seeing people restored by God.

What is an EMI Architecture? It cannot simply be a general term to describe buildings and structures. An EMI Architecture is not defined by an aesthetic or a style, nor is it likely to be found on the glossy cover of architectural magazines. Much of what architects do is about promoting ourselves and our knowledge over others. Yet an EMI Architecture is about exactly the opposite. It is about knowing that we do not know everything, it is about looking around for help and listening to others. An EMI Architecture is about collaboration and participatory design because we believe that the solutions we imagine together are stronger than what we could each achieve apart. As Roger Duarte (a local architect working at EMI Nicaragua) put it, "The architectural product of EMI is not simply a building, it is a way of thinking together."

An EMI Architecture, then, is about moving from the "specificity of the problem to the ambiguity of the question." It is about asking, 'What does architecture look like if we stop speaking and start listening?' 'What does it look like if we approach a new project, a new place, or a new people, and think not about what we can do, but instead ask questions about our profession and our practice?' 'How do we work with integrity and invest in those around us?' An EMI Architecture seeks to truly understand our ministry partners and the people we are serving. It listens to local expertise, understands local materials and construction practices, and invests in local design professionals so that we can realise culturally-appropriate buildings that are sustainable, affordable and transformational.

In Mexico, for example, inexpensive labour is readily available and this has a considerable impact on the choice of building materials and construction systems. As a result, the majority of buildings in the country still use masonry construction. Although it is labour-intensive and time-consuming, in Mexico - like most Central American countries - masonry construction is widely used. An architectural project there will almost certainly have some concept or stage that requires cement, sand, and gravel, and some type of block or brick. This is quite a contrast to most European or North American contexts, where labour-intensive masonry construction is increasingly avoided for environmental reasons or due to concerns over time and cost control. The result is that designers becoming less and less familiar with masonry construction, and more and more familiar with technical cladding systems using glass and steel.

In Mexico, inexpensive labour has a considerable impact on the construction types and methods. An EMI Architecture takes the project-local construction culture seriously and brings the skills and expertise available there into the design. Photo by Marvin Solis, Nicaragua, 2017.
An EMI Architecture is not complete without the involvement of local design professionals, who are key to understanding the language and nuances of design and construction in the locality. Photo by Jared Bishop, Mexico, 2017.

If we, and the organisations we partner with, really want to impact the places where an EMI designed project will be built, we must take these differences seriously. We must recognise that those who come from outside the local context may not have a good understanding of the design and construction choices required locally and the impact they have. We must understand that the people who benefit from an EMI-designed project are not only the users of the buildings, but the wider community that surrounds it: the bricklayer, the contractor, the architect, and the engineer. These people, who have knowledge and expertise in their field, are key to realising culturally-appropriate buildings that are sustainable, affordable and transformational.

If the goal of an EMI Architecture is to construct buildings that fit the communities they serve, then surely the best way to achieve this is to have as many local hands involved as possible. Around the world, ministries are finding new ways to engage people in the communities that they serve. As EMI has seen with our established construction management programme in Uganda, and the much newer one in Nicaragua, job opportunities can directly impact the physical needs of a community, build relationships, and develop people through discipleship.

An EMI Architecture, then, must work with local design professionals. They are incredibly valuable because they can answer a multitude of questions as only a local can - and even if they do not know the answer, they know where to find it. We work globally but we think locally. The projects designed by EMI for YUGO Ministries in Mexico are clear examples of this. Each year YUGO hosts thousands of short-term missionaries from North America and Mexico at their Outreach Centres in Baja California. New facilities were designed for each centre, with dormitory accommodation, offices, meeting and worship areas, and spaces for community outreach. The construction systems used included reinforced concrete foundations, load-bearing confined masonry walls, and timber framing for internal walls, while upper floors used concrete joists and polystyrene blocks, a common local system. The buildings were designed to be in keeping with the look of local architecture, blending colours, materials, and traditional forms.

 

The YUGO Outreach Centre design was developed by an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural team. More than the construction systems, forms, and materials composing the design, it was the team's collaborative effort and approach to the design process that are unique in an EMI Architecture. Photo by Kat Malone, Mexico, 2016. Renderings courtesy EMI Canada, 2016.

It would be easy, then, to think that this is an example of an EMI Architecture. However, what was unique in this and other EMI projects was not the construction method nor the materials used, but the way in which design was approached. Both EMI, in design, and YUGO, in construction, involved local architects and engineers in the project from the very beginning, with the aim of not just building buildings, but building people. The project built relationships and community among volunteers, design professionals, contractors, and local labourers. This interdisciplinary and cross-cultural team was all about collaboration: Working together, listening to each other, and learning together. This approach towards an EMI Architecture goes beyond our designs, our drawings, and our details.

"El producto arquitectónico de EMI no es solo un edificio, es una mentalidad."

Alejandro Aravena in Issue 31 of Revista AOA, published by the Association of Architecture Offices of Chile, May 2016, Page 78.

Alejandro Aravena en el no. 31 de la Revista AOA, publicado por la Asociación de oficinas de Arquitectura de Chile, Mayo 2016, Pág. 78.

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