We need to travel a path that leads us to encounter the other, to those who truly think differently from me. We have built a house so that this encounter can take place. Because we already know the alternative to meeting, and even more importantly, we know its consequences.
The profound act of encountering the other is not merely an ethical matter nor simply an attitude: it is a new ontology of being, in which we must question the idea that we exist as isolated individuals. Architecture and urban planning, and their professionals, need a different way of connecting our work and capabilities with the reality that confronts us.

How can we incorporate conflict, empathy, solidarity, and care as key factors for improving interpersonal and civic relationships? What tools and actions should we undertake to cultivate a heightened awareness of our territory and thus catalyze changes in our ways of living? To design encounters with others, we must simultaneously design encounters with ourselves. Encounters with others are not limited to human relationships but encompass a broader ontology that includes our connection with the environment, objects, spaces, and even the structures we inhabit. In this sense, design becomes an exercise in deep listening, where we pay attention not only to people but also to the traces, echoes, and vibrations of the world around us.

A house full of rooms for listening to each other and giving absolute attention to the encounter. When we give absolute attention, we can respect the encounter, and if we respect the encounter, we respect ourselves and also other people, beings, and living things. Without respect for the other, there is no encounter, nor is there any possible respect for oneself. Because the priority in life, above confrontation, is knowing that life is only possible by embracing difference. Because an architecture that does not create bonds with the other is not sustainable over time.