EDITORIAL: A new world

Abstract

Recent political events that have shaken international politics have left architecture as a factor apparently outside the structural changes the world is undergoing. Changes reflected in wars, invasions, and occupations that, most of the time, have omitted or simply transgressed what has pompously been called the "world order". The social optimism for a world that respected law and agreements between countries, protected by cumbersome international organizations, seemingly could transfer its solutions to architecture. A discipline that, in recent years, has never been more global, more varied, more lavish, and, in memorable cases, more discreet. This has occurred through a direct and simple link to technological progress, with new challenges posed by climate change, sustainability, new means of production, and, above all, the depletion of traditional energy sources, which has led to the search for new sources. These new explorations are now investigating new types of energy whose natural resources - lithium, rare earths – have awoken the most voracious political and economic appetites.