Architecture is more than just a collection of buildings and structures. It is a reflection of our values, beliefs, and aspirations as individuals and as a society.

It is a two-way relationship: the built environment shapes the way we live, work, and interact with each other, while the way we think, and act sculpts the physical world around us.

As an architect with over 20 years of experience, I have seen firsthand how architecture can promote physical and psychological well-being, foster a sense of community, and improve social interactions. At the same time, as an individual who has lived through countless experiences—more than the average person—I have witnessed that educating individuals can ensure a more comprehensive outcome for society and for both the built and natural environment.

At LPS Architecture & Management (LPS), we believe in focusing on the individual. Our thoughts and actions are oriented toward maintaining balance among the individual, the family, and work. For the first two, we take care of the human aspect, and for the third, we shape the built environment.

The balance of these three dimensions allows us to exercise the infinite and continuous power of creating and recreating culture, society and economy. This everlasting dynamic enhances the quality of buildings and, therefore, the lives of their occupants.

Architecture as a Reflection of Society

Architecture is a representation of how we see ourselves and the world. Buildings are social and cultural products influenced by ideas, values, beliefs, activities, relationships, and forms of social organizations. Throughout history, architecture has reflected the values, successes, and eventual downfall of civilizations.

Globalisation along with modern technologies and communication, increasingly eliminates the physical borders of the past. Therefore, the future of the world depends on creating and maintaining strong social foundations where equality, diversity, and inclusion are the norms.

At LPS, our differences unite us and make us stronger. These differences nourish our thinking processes and give rise to different ways of solving problems; in other words, they lead to innovation. Not only does this give us a different perspective on how to tackle a given problem, but it also provides us with identity and culture.

Understanding this basic yet complex truth can be a societal challenge, especially when we are accustomed to dealing with problems and life in the same old way. It’s difficult to undertake new challenges and change paradigms, but when we allow ourselves to think differently, we discover that the future could be much brighter and more promising than we think.

When we, as a community, choose to integrate equality, diversity, and inclusion into our daily lives, we recreate culture with new and lasting values and principles. This new culture is characterised by different and rich flavors, colors, smells, and shapes, giving birth to new schools of thought, tendencies, and styles.

Creating Value through Architecture

Current tendencies put most, or essentially all, efforts into creating value through architecture as a vehicle to directly influence the built environment in which we live. As stated at the beginning of this article, that constitutes one way of doing things. However, I advocate for a more active approach where every individual and the collective are living agents of change and sources for creating value—the type of value that is not impacted by temperature variations, UV radiation, or other materialistic afflictions of being.

Better yet, why not tackle both directions for a change, where our new culture influences the built environment and shapes it to create unity out of diversity? I am certain that by working on both fronts, we would more effectively create new standards of space, comfort, safety, and environmental impact that will generate positive effects in psychology, sociology, economics, politics, and more.

By understanding this desired outcome, the architect, as an interpreter of social and cultural patterns and tendencies and the designer of the spaces we inhabit, is the best-suited actor to imprint these complex interactions onto a more comprehensive built environment. This can be achieved by creating spaces that will be suitable for evolution in all ways.

What About Economic and Environmental Value?

We are multi-dimensional beings, and we cannot pretend to live solely on the outcome of more complete human interactions. We definitely need to integrate economic value as a way of ensuring our survival in a global economic ecosystem, while also making sure that we don’t continue depleting the environmental resources that will allow future generations to make their way through existence.

Wealth creation and economic strengthening can occur when we succeed in creating conditions for individuals to be more assertive, responsible, and empowered, and when these new individuals lead by example through creating products and services or increasing performance in their fields of work, among other actions. This new dynamic could increase property values, attract businesses and investment, and contribute to the overall economic growth of a community. In addition, the construction industry itself is a major driver of economic activity, creating jobs and generating revenue for local businesses.

In Conclusion

To conclude, value creation is a process where the human factor is the key element from beginning to end. The interaction between individuals, their society, and their surroundings in this material experience forms the playground where legacy is born and left for future generations.