Mutual support is a tradition where people come together for collective work in order to achieve a common goal. It exists in multiple forms around the world and has been a way to cope in the face of disasters and in everyday life. In the Philippines this tradition is called Bayanihan and in Norway it is called Dugnad. The question of how we live together is also a question of how we build together. As such, mutual support traditions can inform the way we practice architecture because they are alternative ways for us to build and live together. The talk will share some of our work with communities in Norway, Philippines, Vietnam and Brazil through their traditions of mutual support. It aims to show how we can learn from them and inform the way we create architecture.

Bio:

Alexander Eriksson Furunes and Sudarshan V. Khadka Jr. run a shared architectural practice rooted in principles of collaboration and mutual support. Khadka was an associate at Leandro V. Locsin partners and co-curated the Philippine Pavilion for the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale. Furunes studied at the AA School of Architecture before getting his degree at NTNU, Norway. He is currently doing an artistic PhD, titled “Learning from Bayanihan/Dugnad” (2016-2021). Through projects in Brazil, China, India, Norway, Philippines and Vietnam, they explore critical construction as a means to express shared meanings through architecture. Khadka and Furunes are the curators and architects of the Philippine Pavilion for the 2021 Venice Architecture Biennale, titled “Structures of Mutual Support”