We close this year with many projects and initiatives in progress, and others ready to be developed in the new year.
The final reflection we want to share for 2024 stems from one of our recent visits to an active construction site, centered on the importance of details in our work.
In architecture, every detail is an act of poetry. Attention to detail and finishes during the construction phase is not merely a technical step but a moment of synthesis between idea and material, between thought and action. The great schools of the past have always celebrated this alchemy between design and realization, between drawing and the built work.
The Bauhaus, for instance, placed extraordinary emphasis on the union of art, craftsmanship, and industry. Every element of a building, every finish, was considered part of a coherent whole—a microcosm of design that reflected a broader vision. Polished surfaces, precise joints, carefully calibrated proportions: nothing was left to chance. It wasn’t just about aesthetics but about ethics. The detail represented a commitment to quality, to the very essence of the project.
In contemporary construction sites, often constrained by tight schedules and defined budgets, detail risks being overlooked, relegated to a marginal or secondary issue. Yet it is precisely in the details that architecture breathes, where its humanity manifests.
The Japanese school of wabi-sabi teaches us that even imperfection can be beautiful, but it is a conscious beauty, cultivated with care and respect for the intrinsic nature of materials. In a construction site, attention to detail does not necessarily mean absolute perfection but intention. Every choice, every finish, every joint must speak the language of architecture, telling a story consistent with the original idea.
Consider Carlo Scarpa and his almost obsessive approach to material and detail. His buildings are not simply constructed—they are sculpted, chiseled, caressed by time and the hands of artisans. At every scale, from the overall design to the smallest detail, one perceives a deep love for architectural craft, for that constant dialogue between design and reality.
On the construction site, attention to detail is the moment when the architect leaves the most tangible mark of their vision. It is an act of responsibility toward the future, a gesture of respect toward those who will inhabit the spaces designed. Because architecture is not just a play of forms and volumes but a human experience made of surfaces we touch, light that brushes against walls, materials that speak to our touch and spirit.
We therefore wish to close the year with this reflection and share some photos of one of our projects that encapsulate and synthesize these concepts of attention to detail, the interplay of colors and materials.
Caring for detail means embracing the idea that every element, no matter how small, contributes to creating a sense of place, belonging, and beauty. It means understanding that, as Mies van der Rohe said, "God is in the details": it is in the details that architecture transcends mere construction to become art.
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