Abundance Not Capital: The Living Architecture of Anupama Kundoo

What if architecture were not an instrument of capital? How to imagine and build a non-extractivist and non-exploitative architecture.

Capital’s voracious appetite forces architecture into a regime of ＂never enough.＂ The current realities of building involve extraction and exploitation, which, in turn, cause climate breakdown, environmental ruin, alienated labor conditions, and the destruction of local construction knowledge. But what if we could do architecture differently? What does non-extractivist architecture look like?

In this book, Angelika Fitz and Elke Krasny introduce the concept of abundance to call for a paradigm shift in architecture. Using as its example the exceptional work of architect Anupama Kundoo, this book shows that non-extractivist and non-exploitative architecture is undeniably possible. Kundoo, born in Pune, India, weaves together innovative technological experimentation and traditional crafts. With careful consideration of local resources, building skills, climate, and environment, she makes buildings that embody spatial beauty and graceful materiality.

Abundance Not Capital is a manifesto for creating a future-forward, alternative architecture.

Contributors: Shumi Bose, Jordan Carver, Peggy Deamer, Madhavi Desai, Angelika Fitz, Rupali Gupte, Ranjit Hoskote, Elke Krasny, Charlotte Malterre-Barthes, Shannon Mattern, and Laurie Parsons.

Copublished with Architekturzentrum Wien.

Angelika Fitz is Director of Architekturzentrum Wien (Vienna’s Architecture Center). Elke Krasny is Professor for Art and Education at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. They are coeditors of Critical Care and Yasmeen Lari, both published by the MIT Press.