On the occasion of World Architecture Day, which is celebrated on the first Monday of October, for some years now the architects' associations have extended to a whole week of events, conferences, exhibitions, open doors conference , guided tours of buildings or itineraries through the city and, in general, activities of all kinds subject aimed at all ages. In those places where there are also schools of architecture, Architecture Week is usually organized jointly with the involvement of students and teachers. And it is not uncommon to see public institutions and other cultural entities joining in an ambitious program in the days before or after October 2 this year.

The motivation is clear: to bring to society the best values of architecture, to make more explicit the relevance it has in everyone's life and highlight the examples in which it is more positive. Architects would not share the celebration, if it were not believed that the effort is worthwhile. Because the genuine and growing interest of society in architecture is palpable.

It seems obvious to remember that if we review today's pages of this newspaper, we will find that most of the news, controversies and debates have directly or indirectly to do with planning decisions, the defense of a city or a territory model , with the neighborhood claim of some urban space or its improvement, with the inauguration of a new building, sadly with some natural disaster and the better or worse behavior of what has been built.

Without going as far as the "Everything is architecture" that the Austrian architect and award Pritzker Hans Hollein maintained, to state that as citizens architecture should not be alien to us is another truism. It directly affects the quality of our lives. To continue with this idea, there is hardly any architectural competition that does not include a participatory phase or a popular vote. Many of the decisions about each neighborhood or about the city are studied in forums and groups of work where any citizen is invited to express his opinion. The public authorities feed this trend. The classic boundaries between client and architect are blurring. Finally, everyone's contribution is increasingly called for. Perhaps that is why, if the more debatable effects of this cooperation can be mitigated and its advantages improved, and because of the responsibility that comes with deciding on the future of the generations to come, it is not superfluous that this architecture week serves to bring us closer to its best examples. And that the right decisions can be expected from the promotion of civic responsibility. Architecture matters.

This year in particular, the International Union of Architects is proposing the slogan Let's act against climate change! This is one of the most important challenges we face. The role of architects is fundamental. The call to action is rhetorical, because the paradigm shift is already a fact for more than a decade. Today it is inconceivable not to take into account energy savings, the management of resources, measures to improve efficiency or the life cycle of materials in any architecture project . The emphasis on the environment and its sustainability, the policies to promote it and the technologies to transform it permeate everything. Few today would dare to shirk this responsibility and avoid the consequences. The focus today is undoubtedly on the environmental management .

But this is not to say that there are not different approaches to action. The most stimulating, in my opinion, is the one that translates sustainability into a more sensitive attitude towards a complex reality, beyond the simple application of regulations and blind trust in technologies and sometimes in their abusive use. I would like to think that in the ethical and aesthetic principles of architecture still lies the best environmental attitude: in the careful analysis of reality, in the observation of the natural and historical aspects of the context, in the quality of space and in a good urban strategy, in its social dimension, in function and beauty, in the use of the minimum resources according to each case and each climate, in the use of local materials and techniques, in formal restraint and even in the Withdrawal to build, in arousing emotions through the best possible spaces, the right solutions. In other words, in the common sense of discipline. This attitude, it should be noted on the other hand, is not contrary to the use of the magnificent tools provided by technique and those who defend them.

I am sure that all this is what you can find in the buildings and urban spaces that we architects want to show you this week. I invite you to join the celebration. If you can, check the schedule and participate. You will see the city through different eyes. You will discover that architecture is exciting. And very beautiful.