White paper on creativity - ebla center

Chapter 12architecture, we cannot simply limit theissue to measuring energy savings inbuilding practice or the use ofrenewable sources of energy, althoughthey do contribute considerably toreducing energy requirements andharmful emissions. We must also bearin mind that quality architecture canprovide value added to a local area,instead of subtracting it, and that thisvalue can be enhanced for futuregenerations.The combination of three concepts –development, sustainability and quality– has been espoused by the EuropeanUnion. In 2001 at Gothenburg, theenvironmental dimension was includedin the European Lisbon strategy forgrowth and jobs and, in 2006,architectural and urban quality wasacknowledged as being a strategic factorfor development:“A high quality urban environmentcontributes to the priority of therenewed Lisbon Strategy to makeEurope a more attractive place to work,live and invest.” lviPublic policies to promote Italiancreativity in fostering qualityarchitecture can generate economicspin-offs. Architectural and urbanquality makes a positive contribution tothe international image of a country,which is perceived as being forwardlooking,vital and open to change, andcapable of attracting investments,intellectual resources and advancedfunctions. They in turn affect the qualityof life and well-being of its inhabitants.Take, for example Dubai, one of thefastest-growing cities in the world. In itsstrategic development architecture is akey factor in attracting investments.The spin-offs are difficult to quantify:we would have to calculate theundeniable benefits for tourism, forexample, as in the highly successful caseof Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museumin Bilbao. We would have to assess howmuch the success of Italian designdrives the furnishing and componentssector. But, most importantly, we wouldhave to calculate how far actionspromoting quality architecture, likethose for art and culture, affect theimage of the country and its lifestyle andtherefore indirectly contribute to thepositioning of all Italian products.Italian architects have acquired specificexpertise in the field of safeguardingand redeveloping the architecturalheritage and the harmonious inclusionof buildings in the landscape. Theconstruction of new buildings accordingto criteria of sustainable development isone of the most effective responses tothe need to optimise the use of energysources and reduce the degradation ofnatural environments. But it is equallytrue that redeveloping and restoring, asopposed to constructing new buildings,can involve less waste of resources. lviiThe experience gained by Italiandesigners in their continuousrelationship with historic architecturemeans that they always have thebenchmark of solutions devised byarchitects who could not rely on any oftoday’s energy sources.This invaluable rich heritage of expertiseand knowledge should be promoted anddeveloped on the international scene sothat Italian architects, who have hadexperience in this training ground andhave been tackling these themes fordecades, can forge an Italian way toWHITE PAPER ON CREATIVITY 278