In the city of London, buzzing with new construction cranes and refurbishments in preparation for the 2012 Olympic Games, the congress "Housing and Sustainability" was held.

The topic, with a approach multidisciplinary , brought together sociologists, legal and technical experts, architects, urban planners, members of NGOs and think tanks who presented the conclusions of their work programs of study. Also present were companies providing subsidiary services related to housing (facilities management). Participants from many countries presented their papers and the debates raised essential questions for defining the framework of individual and social life at this crossroads for Western civilization. Coinciding with congress, at the Architectural Association, Professor Pier Vitorio Aurelli, considered the theoretical vanguard of architecture, presented his book The Possibility of an Absolute Architecture, alluding to the classics and presenting his impression of contemporary architecture, which has long since ceased to be the wrapping of an idea and has become an empty form.

It is evident that in the intellectual speech , the idea of tradition in its sense of report and identity is beginning to take on value, proving the uselessness of belonging to a generation that, as Fernando Pessoa says, has lost respect for the past and hope for the future.
It is also clear that in the forums of reflection, sustainability is the idea core topic and is a question of social profitability measured in economic terms, as well as efficiency in the management of material and human resources.

Sustainability is not only about ecological materials, rational water consumption, clean or renewable energies, and waste management ; sustainability is synonymous with social responsibility, reconciliation, architectural and urban spaces that provide quality of life and welfare. Welfare is the concept that will prioritize all actions in developed societies. From now on, the systems of assessment cost-benefit will incorporate elements that go beyond simply economic or productive ones.

Megacities and their problems, housing policies, urban design and their regulations, development plans, infrastructure strategies, and any other element of life in society must be addressed under this concept of sustainability. Environmentalism, "bio" food, clean energies or Education in environmental values are essential, but they are peripheral issues of a more profound action.

The territorial scale of a community such as ours, the relative percentage of university institutions and the markedly innovative nature of the sectors of activity provide us with exceptional conditions for implementing sustainable action in this sense. Sustainability is the vehicle of innovation and provides companies with a growing benefit.
Navarra, model of progress in the construction sector, can lead the way in applying this value, the benefits and consequences of which were discussed in London.