BOSTON_

LED BY RAPHAEL GIELGEN, A GROUP OF PIONEERS FROM ARCHITECTURE, HOSPITALITY, RETAIL, AND FUTURE FORESIGHT EMBARKED ON A TRANSFORMATIVE JOURNEY TO BOSTON. WE TRAVELED TO BOSTON TO VISIT THE MIT MEDIA LAB, MIT THE ENGINE, THE ACCELERATOR PROGRAM, AND BOSTON DYNAMICS WITH THEIR ROBOTS SPOT

. THIS JOURNEY CHANGED OUR PERSPECTIVE AND INSPIRED THE CREATION OF "SHAPE WHAT'S NEXT," SPARKING THE IDEA TO EXPAND THE BANDWIDTH OF COLLABORATION AND MINDSETS.

"AT EVERY CORNER AND END, YOU CAN FEEL THE AMBITION." THIS IS HOW RAPHAEL GIELGEN DESCRIBES HIS IMPRESSIONS OF THE MIT LABS IN BOSTON, USA.

HE FEELS THAT THIS AMBITION AND THE CONSISTENT AND CONSTANT EXPERIMENTATION ARE SOMEWHAT LACKING IN MANY PLACES AND COMPANIES IN EUROPE. "OVER THERE, THERE IS NO FINISH LINE; YOU'RE NEVER DONE, BUT ALWAYS SEARCHING FOR SOMETHING EVEN BETTER." AND ALL OF THIS HAPPENS AT THE UNIVERSITY.

IN THE MIT MUSEUM, THERE IS A LARGE POSTER DESCRIBING THE METHOD USED THERE: "WHAT YOU THINK, YOU BUILD." THIS MEANS THAT EVERYTHING BECOMES A PHYSICAL MODEL. BUT THERE'S MORE: "THE PATH OF BUILDING IS A PATH OF THINKING."

THE MOST ATTENDED COURSE AT MIT IS CALLED "HOW TO MAKE ALMOST EVERYTHING." STUDENTS LEARN HOW TO OPERATE A CNC MILLING MACHINE AND SOLDER A CIRCUIT BOARD.

IN EUROPE, WE OFTEN LACK THIS PRACTICAL KNOW-HOW. BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, WE LACK A GENUINE UNDERSTANDING OF AN INNOVATION CULTURE, WHICH REQUIRES US TO FULLY EXPLOIT EXISTING BUSINESS MODELS WHILE CONSTANTLY SEEKING NEW OPPORTUNITIES.

"WE COME FROM A CULTURE OF CONTROL THAT GUIDES US TO WANT TO DO EVERYTHING RIGHT—BUT THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT PREVENTS US FROM EVEN STARTING AND DISCOVERING NEW THINGS," SAYS GIELGEN. PEOPLE ARE SO OVERLOADED WITH WORK AND ITS DOCUMENTATION THAT THERE'S HARDLY ANY ROOM LEFT FOR CREATIVE EXPERIMENTATION.