Interpreting reality with a critical eye

摘要

We at Domus do not know if crises really are great opportunities, as a much celebrated yet often unfulfilled rhetoric would have it. We are convinced, however, that we cannot cope with the complexity of our times unless we abandon the assumptions of linearity that have characterized the past and begin investing in the development of new, complex, and adaptive tools. Thus, faced with the COVID-19 pandemic, which has erased twenty years of developed practice in world capitalism and undermined our systems of interconnections -air traffic, inter-modal networks, geopolitical relations -, we have responded with a new, ambitious project. Do not let yourselves be fooled by its demode format-a paper magazine hewing to a tradition established in 1938, by which Domus has looked out upon the world from Milan and brought Milan to the world. DomusAir is, first and foremost, a counterintuitive response to the pandemic-induced economic and social crisis we are witnessing today. Although 'merely'composed of words, the response represents something concrete -or better, a method-andits evolution through time. Like yesterday's Domusforum and tomorrow's Domuscontest, today DomusAir marks another turning point in the 'Domus System', which addresses the crisis in the only way it knows: look at the world with a critical eye to interpret reality, create value. In this process, Domus is transforming from an iconic publication to a flexible, modular system that picks up weak signals and transforms them into power-ful interpretations. It hybridizes traditional media channels with others thathave yet to be made visible. It forges novel strategies and new alliances, bringing the pillars of its identity - architecture, design, and art - into dialogue with the realms of knowledge that will shape the future of collective living: economics, philosophy, medicine, cybernetics. As in all other Domus metamorphoses, credit for DomusAir goes to the President of Editoriale Domus, Maria Giovanna Mazzocchi Bordone, who has taken this process to heart right from the start (injecting a good dose of personal passion ). And it also goes to the Managing Director, Sofia Bordone, and her exceptionally far-sighted but realistic management that has guided all the phases of the project since its inception. And last but not least, to One Works, the strategic boutique that has provided scientific leadership around the figure of Giulio De Carli and his decisive contribution to uniting the stakeholders. I want to thank all of them for having believed in us, for having watched over us, and aboue all for having reaffirmed that which we at Domus have known for nearly a century: no one can know what will happen tomorrow. But we can be sure that Domus will be there watching, listening, and interpreting-today as yesterday, to-morrow even more than today. Enjoy the trip.