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Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism Working with the energies of life

3. We believe that the commons of energies represent
a transformative vision for the future of the
relationship between humanity and nature, one that
is based on cooperation, solidarity, and respect for
the planet and its people. The commons of energies
represent the shared heritage of humanity, a legacy
of knowledge and creativity that transcends national
borders and individual interests. The commons of
energies encompass all forms of energy, from the sun
and wind to geothermal and hydroelectric power, and
beyond. These energies are abundant, renewable, and
accessible to all, and their benefits can be shared by
everyone. By embracing this vision based on a new
thermoeconomics, we can build a more sustainable,
equitable, and just society, one that honors the legacy
Figure 9. Future microbial electronics energy network “imagined” by artificial of our different pasts, the complexity of our many
intelligence and co-designed by electrogenic microbes at the microscale. presents, and the promise of our many futures.
Source: Image courtesy of Rolf Hughes, created with Midjourney, 2023 4. We reject the consumptive, toxic paradigms of industrial
modernism that has led to a sense of alienation and
human development so they promote enlivening of local disconnection from nature and from our own inner
ecosystems through the healthy, equitable, and sustainable selves, to embrace a more holistic and life-affirming
flow of electrons through many different bodies. approach through the regenerative energies of life
Subverting the modern expectations of what a that can help us to reclaim our sense of purpose and
“good” home may be the design of metabolic electron meaning in relationship with the natural realm.
flow is, therefore, valued through its contributions 5. We condemn how modern industrial energy
to the living realm by increasing the liveliness of paradigms have colonized technology, people and
its communities and transforming our behavior nature, and have burned hydrocarbons in the pursuit
into invisible acts of environmental care, which is of a god-like project to acquire unprecedented power
fundamental for sustaining the world. No matter how for the few. We abhor the environmental degradation,
living architectures are deployed, we are accountable for social inequality, and other forms of harm and
them through the mutuality of everyday relationships, exploitation of the many that such practices engender,
and to behave in convivial ways, they will require and instead seek to distribute the natural energies
our socialized engagement with them (Latour, 2012). of life through our everyday activities to empower,
Through the maintenance of day-to-day interfaces, and establish a more just and sustainable society of
metabolic choreographies, and myriad acts of care, our distributed, constantly flowing energies.
homes may even acquire a unique character and inner 6. We invite beings from all other species and walks of
“life” – perhaps, even a unique vitality, or spiritual life to participate in the commons of energies that
dimension that (re)confers the concept of energy with operates within the natural carrying capacities of
sacred qualities that are a precondition for life itself. bodies and local habitats, without robbing resources
from other locales, beings, or generations.
8. A manifesto against the modern industrial 7. We invite such kith and kin to embrace their inner
energy: For a new thermodynamics creativity, intuition, and spiritual connection, and

1. Energy should be considered a fundamental human to make mutually beneficial exchanges through a
right, and access to it should be guaranteed to all, currency of electrons to create a more just, sustainable,
regardless of their social or economic status. and life-affirming world.
2. Access to energy resources should be based on 8. We, the multitudes of beings entangled in the web
principles of sustainability, equity, environmental, and of life, find ourselves at an energetic crossroads. The
social justice, establishing a new thermoeconomics. planet we call home is facing unprecedented ecological
This means that the extraction, distribution, and and social crises, driven by a voracious extractive
consumption of energy should be guided by ethical economy and exploitative modern industrial energy
and ecological considerations, and not by profit- systems that value transient profit over sustained
driven motives. investments in people, the living realm, and the planet.

Volume 5 Issue 4 (2023) 9 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.0862