This Is: Vincent Jackow
On Building Sustainably, his Inspirations & the Future
Vincent Jackow is a French-American Civil Engineering and Architecture graduate. Growing up in Tokyo, an incredible mixture of contemporary and traditional, he became intrigued with building processes and architectural design from an early age. Passionate about construction, furniture and graphic design, you can tell he is a well-rounded creative spirit. Vincent now actively studies the construction industry, its impact on the environment and how we can build sustainably for the future. He currently works at Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) in Copenhagen as a member of their new Sustainability team.
Presentation at University of Illinois Chicago
Reminiscing on his experience in Japan, Vincent recalls standing in awe before the works of Tadao Ando. “Seeing this incredible mix of architectural styles had my senses fired-up”, he recalls, “and visiting sites such as the Chichu Museum or the 2121 Design Sight sealed my envy to learn more about the industry”. He goes on to explain he “loved to express [his] creativity in many ways - through drawing, video editing, and graphic design. [He] was self-taught in many of these disciplines. Moreover, [he] enjoyed video-games like The Sims or Age of Empires which all contained aspects of building, planning, organising”. Comfortable with scientific subjects in high school, Vincent wanted to start Engineering studies. However, the courses revealed themselves to be too technical for him, wanting to express more of his creativity. He decided to specialise in Civil Engineering and passed the entrance exam to start Architecture school in parallel.
Chichu Museum
As he progressed through his Civil Engineering studies, Vincent realized there was a crucial topic he had not been taught enough of: Sustainability. While completing a research project on the matter of using alternatives to cement in building, such as clay, he learnt some alarming facts. “Cement production represents 7-8% of global greenhouse gas emissions and concrete is the second most used substance on the planet, after water. The Construction Industry is responsible for 30-40% of carbon emissions”. He adds that, as stated by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, “We’re going to build [the surface equivalent of New York City every month for the next 40 years. We’re going to face many issues with over-consumption and pollution if we don’t make a change”. Additionally, it is within his architecture studies that Vincent came across “a more sensible approach to materials - you can find solutions to build with less carbon emissions, using simpler methods and less processed materials”.
His eyes light up as he starts to explain to me the various concepts and methodologies used to assess these sustainability issues. “One step forward in finding the solutions is to use Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), study Embodied Carbon and Operational Carbon”, he tells me. “Life cycle assessment is the scientific method to assess environmental impacts associated with all the stages of a product's life, which is from raw material extraction through materials processing, manufacture, distribution, and use”. I mention upcycling and downcycling to him: “I’m not a fan of those, as they suggest value judgment within the use of materials. Which ones are worth upcycling and which ones are worth downcycling? Instead of creating new products, why not reuse them? There are many construction materials we can salvage and reuse as they are, instead of adding industrial processes to recycle them”.
Vincent continues, pedagogically: “Embodied Carbon is the amount of carbon emitted during the making of a building. This includes extraction of raw materials, manufacture and refinement of materials, transport, the building phase of the product or structure, and the deconstruction and disposal of materials at the end of life. Operational Carbon is the amount of carbon emitted during the operational or in-use phase of a building. This includes the use, management, and maintenance. Operational Carbon currently accounts for 28% of global greenhouse gases. Though, Embodied Carbon only accounts for 11% now, with the estimated increase in construction, by the year 2050 embodied and operational carbon emission levels will be the same. Luckily, the reason why Operational Carbon is unlikely to increase is because our grid energy is becoming greener, using renewable energy, better insulation, improving power efficiency etc. The bigger issue is Embodied Carbon, but there are some solutions such as bio-based materials, alternative brick and concrete production techniques, “growing materials'' with miscellium etc. The challenge will be to implement them and convince the industry decision-makers of their use”.
Conceptual Museum Model
Vincent quotes one of his inspirations, R. Buckminster Fuller: “Ephemeralization is the ability of technological advancement to do ‘more and more with less and less until eventually you can do everything with nothing’. Essentially it’s about the increase in the efficiency of achieving the same or more output while requiring less input. Fuller's vision was that ephemeralization will result in ever-increasing standards of living for an ever-growing population despite finite resources. It’s crazy to think he was already saying this in 1938. I’ve done some projects following his methods, and I hope they can be implemented in grand-scale construction sites”.
“It’s not normal for engineering students to not have learnt about all these topics during their studies. Any small innovation within construction projects will help towards reducing our environmental impact”, Vincent comments. We discuss the fact that these issues will unequally affect different parts of the world: “In the developed, richer parts of the world, we have forgotten about the concept of scarcity. And even though we’ve raised awareness on the matter and introduced pollution sanctions, we can’t tell developing countries to be more careful as it would be hypocritical of us”. Going back to the topic of concrete, “the reality is that it is cheap to mass produce so it’s obviously a useful material for new development. It has an inherent social value, it brings comfort. But you need a special kind of sand to produce concrete - it’s scarce, there are essentially wars around it. We won’t be the ones to pay the price, it’ll be the next generation. It’s sad because we are repeating the same mistakes the previous generations made in that sense”.
Vincent currently works in the new Sustainability team at the Bjarke Ingels Group in Copenhagen. “I’m happy I decided to move here”, he tells me, “Copenhagen provides an enriching and international experience I probably would not have found had I stayed in France. I’m surrounded by smart, creative individuals here and truly appreciate the opportunity I have to touch upon a vast array of projects with my expertise”. On the subject of work in the architecture and design industry, I mention a previous article, “Hopeful and Undervalued” asking Vincent about his thoughts: “Because I have both an engineering and architecture background, I see both sides. Essentially, you would get paid double as an engineer when starting. Technical, scientific skills are typically more valued than creative skills. Architecture interns are often overworked and underpaid. You’re basically paying to work, the salary will barely cover living expenses. Students want that big internship for their CV. It is unfair that all these architecture firms around the world are based on this intern system - a couple interns on each project under directors. The system is problematic, as firms aim to be competitive and control their expenses, so they’re reluctant to make changes and increase their payroll. The broader problem is that the creative and planning process is undervalued - a real estate agent is often paid more for selling a house than the architect that designed it. It is a debatable subject, but it's clear that the status-quo isn’t doing any favors to the young creative hopefuls. ‘Architecture is a passion job’ is something that employers play upon to undermine the value of the work”. We realize he mentioned all the arguments discussed in our previous article - it’s clear this is a shared experience amongst creatives.
Durable Aluminium Contact Lens Case by Vincent Jackow
On a personal note, Vincent tells me more about his side-projects and hobbies. “My Instagram, ‘Plaque-Tournante’ (the French translation of ‘turntable’), originates from my love for music - I own a collection of vinyls and love creating my own mixes. Music sets the mood to my creative process. I wanted to build furniture to house my music corner and share the process with friends. But then it essentially became a repository of all my little creations, from graphical design to making an aluminum contact lens case”. He describes his very “hands-on approach, [as he likes] to transform raw materials by [his] own doing. At home, workshops, factories or industrial design courses during [his] studies”. He tells me about an experience a few years ago, participating in a worksite in Brittany, using local stones and wood - it was “inspiring to build everything from the ground-up”.
He pauses for a moment and decides to open-up: “I’m still figuring things out. How can I truly have an impact on the construction industry? I hope to teach in the future, raise awareness within the younger generations and ensure future students don’t have the same frustrations I had when they realise the lack of education on sustainability and environmental factors. I’m currently preparing lectures on LCA and Carbon for two universities in France. [In the future], I hope to have a “part-time” scenario, where I can share my time between education and working on architecture/engineering projects”. Finally, he confides in me, giving me his consent to share one of his dreams as a sort of reminder to hold him accountable: “My dream, my long-term plan, would be to one day create my own hotel of sorts, a manifesto of sustainable construction but also a place for material experimentation. I would like to implement workshops and seminars open to the public within that space. I hope to show people they can live comfortably and enjoy design whilst also ensuring their environmental impact is as low as possible”.
Vincent Jackow is a young man with incredible creative aptitude and a driving force in the change towards sustainability. His convictions are genuine and pure. As our interview comes to an end, he humbly thanks me for lending him an ear through his ramblings - I jokingly tell him his ramblings were the most informative I’ve heard in a while. I hope you, the reader, have learnt as much as I have and will look further into the topics discussed. Change is needed.
