A Lot With Little at Prague's CAMP

A Lot With Little

A Lot With Little is a project created and produced by curator and architect Noemí Blager with films by Tapio Snellman, film director and artist working predominantly with architectural and urban planning themes. It showcases the work of architects from around the world who are working on sustainable solutions in housing, education, building transformation, and disaster relief. It highlights projects with a social dimension that have a positive impact not only on the environment but also on the local community.

"In a world where unpredictable events and natural disasters increasingly affect our living conditions, and where the building industry is responsible for nearly 40% of global carbon emissions, the responsibility of architects has never been as critical as it is today. Indifference to the overwhelming consequences of climate change is not an option. With limited time, money and resources at our disposal, we urgently need new sustainable ways to design and produce good architecture. An architecture led by societal needs, and made with the resources at hand, that responds to local culture, local economy and the environment. An architecture conceived ethically and responsibly, that cares for our future," says Noemí Blager.

The architects whose work is exhibited use participation in their work and do not shy away from bold yet affordable solutions. They compensate for the lack of funding with their creativity. 

"One of the main criteria when selecting the architects for the project, was that their whole body of work is responsible – they are practical, they make sense, and they care about doing projects that are rooted in the local culture. They are profound observers. They spend time at the given place, they analyze, they study, and their response is very specific to that context. When you work this way, sustainability is a natural outcome, not a goal," explains Blager.

The range of projects is remarkably diverse: social housing in the suburbs of Barcelona, rural schools in the Peruvian Amazon, a children's rehabilitation center in Asunción, Paraguay, and emergency housing for landless Bangladeshi women, as well as a school of architecture in Nantes by Pritzker Prize winners Lacaton & Vassal and a technology campus on the shores of Lake Turkana in Kenya by Kéré Architecture. Viewers see the individual projects through a multi-channel film installation. Film footage of the projects in everyday use is accompanied by interviews with the architects themselves.

Prague’s CAMP Welcomes A Lot with Little 

First showcased at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2023, the exhibition visits a few selected cultural metropolises – Chicago, Zurich, Berlin, Guangzhou – and until March 3, 2024 – Prague.

The host of the exhibition is Prague’s urban planning hotspot, Center for Architecture and Metropolitan Planning (CAMP), whose unique 25-meter-long projection screen takes one on an extraordinary journey around a diverse and complex world. Visitors sail through a variety of geographical, cultural, social, and economic contexts and discover the problems facing contemporary architecture. 

"While CAMP usually hosts exhibitions related to Prague’s development, A Lot With Little seems to break away from that pattern. But, it actually fits right in, since the projects featured in the film show how metropolises like Prague or even smaller cities and municipalities can build a more sustainable future. The innovative essence of A Lot With Little is relevant in many parts of the Czech Republic, from UNESCO-listed sites and brownfields to protected landscapes," says Štěpán Bärtl, Head of CAMP. 

"I think there is a lack of communication between architects and people for whom a lot of these projects are destined. There is a need to break these barriers by talking about architecture in a language that the public can understand – such as a film. And there’s a need for a forum where they can discuss it as well – such as CAMP, that acts as a bridge between different stakeholders in the city’s planning – the professionals, the public, politicians, and developers. CAMP is unique. I would love to see many more “CAMPs” in other cities," adds Noemí Blager. 

Little Resources, Big Changes – The Czech Way

"A Lot With Little is like a network of similar-minded people, and for the exhibition, we wanted to identify projects with such ethos within our local context. We found several studios with a similar approach in the Czech Republic and highlighted their work in a CAMP-curated catalogue titled Little Resources, Big Changes," explains Bärtl. 

Projects of various scales present innovative, clever, and low-cost solutions, divided into the exhibition’s four categories – housing, education, transformation, and disaster relief. From projects aiming to improve the quality of existing houses, through experimental, modular, or low-cost structures providing shelter, and educational environment, transforming public and community space, to ones reacting to health or environmental crises. 

"The exhibition is just the beginning. I want to generate a network, a platform of knowledge, gathering more relevant projects that tackle the issues at hand. I would like it to be a source of inspiration, exchange, sharing knowledge, and connecting different people and professions. CAMP’s initiative of creating the Little Resources, Big Changes catalogue signifies a progression towards the subsequent phase of A Lot With Little, which involves the creation of a book," adds Blager.


More information and the full programme can be found at www.praha.camp

Curator and producer: Noemí Blager, www.noemiblager.com
Filmmaker: Tapio Snellman, www.tapiosnellman.com

Composer: Daniel Nolan, www.danielnolanmusic.com
Graphic design: Micha Weidmann, www.michaweidmannstudio.com
Support: Arper, www.arper.com