The quality of our living environment is the result of a complex mixture of stakeholder’s engagement, knowledge sharing, cultural backgrounds, climate conditions, economic and political powers. To guarantee that everybody´s basic right for “dignified housing” is a fact, strong leadership is needed.

Building Sense Now is an “out-of-comfort zone” in combination with a “design-based think tank”. We focus on future models of architecture and building design being critical towards the “time-is-money” developments of the last 50 years. The industrialization of our society became synonym of a global spread of “one-line” thinking and a “Version 8-V9-V10-V11” development of products: quantity instead of quality. We lost the essence of growth: innovation to increase human well-being.

The impact of globalization

I have the feeling that the XXI century is struggling with the consequences of globalization. If globalization means imposing single and simplified models all over the world, so that benefits go to single and simplified countries, leaders, or enterprises, then this system will shock on a certain moment with the sensitiveness of many people who do not want to lose the richness of their own identity. How can we avoid that the local knowledge on architecture and urban design is not overruled by imported models?

We are reaching a point of no return. Globalization, until now, did not take into account the value in cultural differences, neither local needs because of climate or social circumstances. Current globalization is a “single and simplified” system based on economic benefits. We need a global network that gives sense to localized progress.

Neglecting cultural and climate conditions

Building Sense Now restarts building a common sense on global level, in general, but mainly with a particular focus on how we are building a (un)sensitive habitat. Why do we have to live in more or less the same buildings all over the world? Why do we have to accept that a good urban standard is “glazed high rise building”? Why do we add value to a dwelling because of its location and not based on its climate change resilience design? Why are nowadays buildings sealed standardized boxes and not transpiring skins on a flexible skeleton? Why should an American or Chinese urban model fit into an African context?

We have to leave our comfort zone and make the effort of understanding the power of difference. The knowledge sharing network of Building Sense puts in crisis our present way of homogenizing architecture. Global flows of materials, urban models or building systems are not always the best solutions for our cities. Climate change is a result of the wide spread use of a simplified (fossil fuel based) industrial development. So, let’s work on a heterogeneous, complex and multi-value globalized answer for our cities by building a contextualized architecture.

Sorry Rem, but I would say: bye bye “f*ck context”.