Architecture

Architecture is the response of Mankind to the Natural context in which they live. It has evolved with people as the display of their social condition, technology and progress. It has also displayed many other aspects of human kind like its creativity, wellness, avidity and frivolity. It is impossible to think about architecture without thinking about the relationship between people and energy.

In history this link was indissoluble since people always looked for recreating a comfortable environment in their homes using what nature put at disposal. In the last century the scenario has changed: People increased their environmental impact exponentially regardless to what could cause to their future. With an uncontrolled abuse of our resources nowadays the C02 emissions caused by the building industry are above the 40% of the global amount, causing tremendous consequences in the world’s equilibrium. In front of this every architecture theory shows vulnerable. We must do a step back and re-think architecture a bit more like our ancestors, use natural resources as the first rule of our design.

Once again we must design in response to people need, according to the natural environment, think nature as an extremely powerful resource and not like a problem to resolve. However, the context is not only to consider under the environmental aspect. Culture, Society, Traditions, criticalities are also a consistent part of the project’s roots. The architectural design must be the rational response to all these criteria. These criteria need therefore to be synthesized in a concrete design involving creativity and technology, creating a dialogue between what already exist and what it will be. The tradition handed down the secret of synthesis in the unitary scheme of Vitruvius, which link together “utilitas, firmitas et venustas” (utility, static and beauty). Architecture, as we build it nowadays, can play on each of those components according to the situation. Eventually we could say that, many times, a coherent process of design that facilitates the dialogue between utility and construction brings necessarily to the esthetic. This is the essence of what is real in contrast to what is useless and frivolous.