Born in 1969, the architect, civil engineer, urban planner, painter and fashion designer Marita Schnepper passed away in 2022 of an incurable disease. Through her diverse talents, she strived to improve the way she lived on all levels. She focused on finding solutions in using our world’s resources carefully and dedicated her time on raising awareness of how we take care of our planet with a spirited sense of humor. A planet whose generosity in treating us must be reciprocated.
Marita Schnepper with her paining “Memories of a Pineapple”
She decided to donate her entire fortune to what mattered most to her. She believed the most powerful source of positive change for the future would be something that is plainly to see for everybody and yet it is so overlooked by many. This source is architecture.
Buildings and everything connected to mining their materials, transport, their construction and maintenance currently consume about one third of the world’s energy consumption. According to our estimates, 40% of energy directly connected to architecture is used for HVAC systems, heating, ventilation and air conditioning. This number is set to be rising in the future.
There may be debates about the attribution of individual energy values, as the numbers are not entirely transparent worldwide. What is certain is that architecture and city planning have a far-reaching influence on the future of global energy consumption as well as on the quality of life, whoever we are, where ever we live.
Marita Schnepper was convinced that challenging this development by new architectural concepts could pave way for an energy transition we need. We need a new concept of modern architecture, a new look that caters to the new functionality of reducing the energy consumption of construction, of buildings, of entire communities while maintaining or even increasing the comfort of living. Her idea of a new ecological architecture has the power of disrupting old habits. It accesses a portfolio of unused possibilities and taps into this large segment of energy use that has not yet reached common public awareness. Changing this awareness can open access to a pool of possibilities which one day might even surpass our efforts in other segments like transport and mobility.
Marita Schnepper was well aware that young architects working on new incentives might find it hard to succeed with their sometimes even revolutionary ideas, as “modern architecture” has reached a new level of conservatism. While providing a smaller CO2 footprint and bringing forth a higher standard of living, ecological architecture will also bring about new business opportunities. That is why she believed a new generation of architects will succeed in the long run.
