Acquire, collect, show, share - the context of experience is broad and complex. In particular, because conceptual experience can be considered in two ways. So, on the one hand, we talk about experiencing a situation. At the same time, we speak of acquiring experience, precisely because we have lived through and mastered a certain situation. We show our experience and we pass it on. The instinctive and spontaneous accrual of experience, competence and knowledge, which we see as self-evident, requires more critical and detailed examination.

“Is it true that by doing something for long enough, you automatically get better at it? No, not necessarily. Not even years of experience can increase our knowledge if we do not use our time to reflect and learn. However, this knowledge alone is of little use if the skills required to make practical use of it are lacking. “You become competent by applying knowledge practically and gaining your own experience”, explains Ingrid Gerstbach, Innovation Management and Design Thinking Consultant.

In this issue of Forms & Elements, we portray projects where experience, expertise and knowledge have played a key role during the project realization. Projects resulting in outstanding buildings.