In Lloyd Alter’s preface in the book [ours] Hyperlocalization of Architecture he quotes Christopher Alexander, “When you building a thing you cannot merely build that thing in isolation, but must repair the world around it, and within it. So that the larger world at that one place becomes more whole.”

So begins the short film featuring author Andrew Michler who sits down with the journalist of the Dot Earth Blog Andrew Revkin at the New York Time Building, to discuss the concept and projects of hyperlocal architecture. The unscripted discussion explores how contemporary architecture responds to, and transforms, place and synthesize the needs of both people and climate. The conversation explores regions in the book exemplifying innovative design principles, ranging from the tiny homes of Tokyo, to the eclectic and kinetic architecture of Australia.

Revkin asks why the regional chapter titles are based on verbs such as harvests, condenses, plays, and maintains. Micher explains “I didn’t want to start out focusing on the object of architecture, which is where I think we struggle now with understanding what buildings are. They are essentially ideas in the end, ideas which have taken form and shape, and we use them and see them as a solid thing. But when we create them they are not so solid, they are very much about process.”

The film is produced in by LOCAL, a multimedia platform exploring sustainability at the community level.

Watch the film here.