Kacper Kępiński: Anthropocene: Towards a Regenerative Architecture

The Anthropocene is an era of humans, an era of anthropogenic changes that result in global climate catastrophe. The talk will focus on a recent publication, which expands the content developed as part of the “Anthropocene” exhibition presented in 2022 in Warsaw and 2023 in Wroclaw. As part of the exhibition, Centrala has developed the "Artisanal Microclimates" project, addressing the impact of buildings on elements of urban climate. In a broader context, the exhibition and book explore the possibilities that architectural tools can create in strategies for planetary regeneration and the politics of care. It discusses the context of the doughnut economics, and the reference to the realities of European cities gives it a practical dimension. The book includes essays by specialists in various fields – including architects, sociologists, geographers – as well as works by artists who have created speculative installations on the future of regenerative architecture. The book closes with a series of texts speculating on the social and philosophical dimensions of the Anthropocene, the challenges of the future for the planet and architecture that must find itself in a new context.

Kacper Kępiński is an architect and curator, together with Adrian Krężlik co-editor of “Antropocen: W stronę architektury regenerującej” (2022). He is the head of the department of external projects and exhibitions at the National Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning in Warsaw.

The project is realized with the financial support of the City Council of Prague and the Czech Ministry of Culture. Supported by the Polish Institute in Prague.