Exclusive of the National Centre RUSSIA: expert Tarik Oualalou believes humanity's future depends on architecture

The expert program on architecture and urbanism "Looking into the Future" will take place on April 8 at the National Centre RUSSIA. Leading Russian and international architects, urbanists, designers, representatives of the government, and creative industries will discuss urban planning.

Industry experts will debate the topic of total urban design and discuss the demands of architects and living environments. According to Tarik Oualalou, Director of Design and founding partner of OUALALOU + CHOI (France, Morocco), the subject of the architecture of the future is directly linked to humanity's survival.

"It’s a question of survival. We cannot continue to build the way we have for the past two hundred years. Our architecture and urban planning have destroyed the planet we inhabit, erasing the place of the body. We need to imagine a radical shift in paradigm, not simple amendments, if we want to prolong our lease on this finite planet of ours. This century will witness the final demographic explosion of our species, and it is our role to imagine the form that human settlements and architecture has to look like," said Tarik Oualalou.

The expert will take part in the panel discussion "Architecture of the Future" as part of the "Looking into the Future" program.

"The question of the future is indeed integral to architectural thinking, and it was our function to imagine it. Yet probably because we delivered uncritically in the 20th century, we have been guilt ridden and quite shy to explore it again. This function of foresight has never been more important, in a moment of transformation of our Nature, of collapse of living things, of rapid transformation of our humanity. In particular my work and research in the past 20 years has been to focus on the future of human’s settlements. Where will we live? Is the very nature of cities as we come accustomed to still possible? We still do not see limitations and continue designing in places that perhaps can no longer accommodate us," said Tarik Oualalou.

The session will also cover topics such as the construction of new cities amid demographic growth, the impact of urban planning on nature, and large-scale migrations.

The speaker is confident that under the influence of urban planning, people will ultimately have to learn to be nomads again. In this paradigm, the expert will discuss the forms of transportable architecture — the classic tent, which in the future may acquire new shapes and help people build relationships with nature. Speaking about international dialogue, Tarik Oualalou expressed confidence that the world's countries must collaborate to build the megacities of the future.

"Because whether we live in Paris, Moscow, or Casablanca, we have a collective impact on the planet. We have to create a new sense of a global community. We also must learn from each other better. The places that were once cold will become hot, and the transfer of knowledge must go beyond existing colonial frameworks," said the speaker.  

For a productive international dialogue, experts need new platforms. Tarik Oualalou emphasized that the "Looking into the Future" architecture and urbanism program at the National Centre RUSSIA is exactly such a point of attraction for the professional community.

You can register for the "Looking into the Future" expert program on architecture and urbanism on the National Centre RUSSIA website in the "Events" section.