LENS #05 — Shape Ideas
The quality of the built environment: a cultural responsibility before a technical one
Susanna Tradati reflects on the cultural value of built quality, drawing on the discussion promoted by Fondazione Teicos.
by Susanna Tradati, Co-Founder, Nemesi Architects
On July 8 in Rome, I had the pleasure of participating in a conference dedicated to the Quality of Construction, a forum for discussion that brought together designers, contractors, real estate professionals, and institutional representatives to address an issue that is set to become increasingly central to the future of our cities.
A shared understanding clearly emerged from the debate: quality can no longer be viewed as simply the sum of technical performance, technological innovations, or environmental certifications. Rather, it is the result of a complex process in which expertise, responsibility, and vision must converge toward a common goal.
It is precisely on the issue of the trial that, in my view, the most important challenge is being played out today.
Innovation is often equated with what is visible: new materials, advanced construction systems, digitization, artificial intelligence, BIM, or digital twins. All of this is essential. But there is a less obvious—and perhaps even more decisive—form of innovation that concerns the very way we conceive a project, organize the supply chain, and make decisions.
Restoring design to its central role means bringing the project back to where it belongs: at the very beginning of the decision-making process. It means involving the designer as early as the pre-feasibility stages, when the brief, objectives, financial framework, and overall sustainability of the project are defined. It means recognizing that quality begins long before construction begins.
Construction Site | Italian Pavilion, Expo Milano 2015 ©nemesiarchitects ©luigifilliteiciimages
This central role also implies a different conception of professional responsibility. The designer’s task does not end with the delivery of the design documents, but consists of guiding the entire process, helping to create value throughout the project’s life cycle. The quality of a building should still be assessable even after two, ten, or twenty years, by evaluating its ability to adapt to change, its ease of maintenance, user satisfaction, the consistency of its performance, and the impact it has on the urban context.
This approach inevitably requires a more mature supply chain.
Construction Site | Italian Pavilion, Expo Milano 2015 ©nemesiarchitects ©luigifilliteiciimages
Clients, designers, contractors, and public administrations can no longer act as advocates for parallel interests; rather, they must recognize themselves as part of the same process of value creation.
A truly collaborative supply chain is one in which dialogue takes place from the very earliest stages, expertise is recognized as a shared asset, and quality is a common goal—not a cost to be cut.
In this regard, I believe that the public sector, too, is called upon to undergo a profound cultural transformation. The significant investments currently being made in digitization, BIM, and management tools represent a fundamental step forward, but they also require a parallel growth in skills and the ability to manage increasingly complex processes. Technology, in fact, creates value only when it becomes knowledge.
Finally, there is one point I consider crucial.
Architecture does not merely produce buildings. It creates contexts, relationships, and identities. Every project alters both the physical and cultural landscapes; it helps redefine the value of a neighborhood, the quality of public space, and the relationship between people and the places they inhabit.
For this reason, I continue to believe that architecture should be considered a true cultural infrastructure.
Just as physical infrastructure makes the economic and social life of a region possible, architecture shapes the cultural conditions through which a community identifies itself, evolves, and envisions its future. Discussing the quality of the built environment therefore means asking not only how we build, but above all what kind of society we wish to build.
The challenge in the coming years will not simply be to build more efficient buildings. It will be to create a supply chain capable of sharing responsibility, developing a long-term vision, and measuring the value of these transformations not only at the time of completion, but over the long term—the lifespan of cities.
It is from this perspective that the quality of our built environment can become one of the main drivers of cultural innovation in our country.
LENS was born out of a desire to put curiosity and mindfulness back at the centre, to broaden our view of the world and continue to talk about beauty and current events, even as our environment — complex and polluted — sometimes seems to be falling apart.
