Miquel Lacasta Analyzes Shift from Efficacy to Efficiency in Architecture and Urbanism

Miquel Lacasta's article explores a paradigm shift from a focus on efficacy to efficiency in contemporary architecture and urban planning. He argues that modernism, exemplified by figures like Le Corbusier and the Modern Movement, prioritized achieving results—such as providing mass housing in early 20th-century Europe—without sufficient regard for resource management. This approach, while effective in addressing immediate needs like sanitation and shelter, led to long-term issues including car-dependent cities and environmental degradation. Lacasta contrasts this with a growing contemporary emphasis on efficiency, which values sustainable resource use and future considerations. He illustrates this transition using France's nuclear energy policy as an analogy, noting its efficacy in producing cheap, independent electricity but questioning its efficiency due to long-term waste risks. The text suggests that architecture is now being rethought to prioritize resource efficiency over mere results, acknowledging tensions in this shift but viewing it as necessary for sustainable urban development. The piece was written prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, which Lacasta implies may accelerate this move toward efficiency.