Home Minus 12.5 mm. A series of three 1:6 scale models. Halting the construction and subtracting the finishing layers. Furnished and staged as a home.

Three 1:6 scale models depict three spaces from three of our built projects. The models are decorated with furniture, plants, and everyday objects such as plastic bags, hand soap, and newspapers.

What is unusual about the views is that the finishing 12.5 mm layer, corresponding to the thickness of a standard sheet of plasterboard, has been removed to expose the underlying components. Slats, mineral wool, PEX tubing, underfloor heating plates, and other installations appear – components, which usually are left hidden in contemporary construction.

In order to find the necessary solutions, we need to be aware of the challenges we are facing. Not as abstract phenomena such as sea level rise, greenhouse effect, or overconsumption but as tangible matters. ‘Home minus 12.5 mm’ sheds a (self)critical light on contemporary construction methods and the architects’ responsibility in creating a sustainable future.

The models expose the mismatch between the perceived architecture and the actual construction, which in fact contains several layers of both complex and generic technical measures. We believe this mismatch contributes to us as human beings becoming disconnected from the actual conditions and structures that create the framework of our lives. ‘Home minus 12.5 mm’ highlights an architectural example of this imbalance permeating economic, political, geological, and social structures in today’s global society.

The photographs are a contribution to the anthology ‘Connectedness – An Incomplete Encyclopedia of the Anthropocene’ which was published as part of the Danish contribution to the Biennale Architettura in Venice 2021. With a focus on what is connecting us in the Anthropocene era, the book presents perspectives, statements, knowledge, and research from contributors of widely different backgrounds such as authors, researchers, philosophers, artists and architects.

Contributors include Bruno Latour, Donna Haraway, Peter Weibel, Greta Thunberg, Björk, Olga Tokarczuk, Connie Hedegaard, Minik Rosing, Carsten Jensen, Josefine Klougart, Superflex, and Tomás Saraceno among others.