Can you imagine a learning experience where traditional architectural knowledge merges seamlessly with gaming, AI, simulation, and augmented reality (AR)? This is exactly what SCI-Arc's MA2 curriculum offers. This innovative blend not only equips students with essential skills in traditional design, theory, and practice, but also provides them with the tools to delve into cutting-edge technologies that are reshaping the design industry.
For centuries, models have been central to architectural design, providing architects with a tangible way to explore ideas, test concepts, and communicate their vision. From the Renaissance to Modernism, models have been instrumental in the construction and reflection processes, offering insights into form, proportion, and spatial relationships. However, in today's digital age, where 3D models and Virtual Reality (VR) have become powerful and efficient tools, the question arises: Are physical models still relevant in contemporary architecture?
Vernacular construction technologies are based on centuries of practical wisdom, refined through countless trials and errors. This process eliminates all irrelevant aspects, creating highly efficient and simple systems that are intrinsically adapted to the local climate and resources. These methods demonstrate how to conserve heat with minimal energy, offering valuable insights for modern buildings, promoting energy efficiency, and environmental harmony. In this article, we have already covered traditional passive cooling techniques, such as Persian wind towers and Arab mashrabiya. Now, we turn our focus to strategies applicable to cold climates, exploring effective solutions for heat retention and space heating.
Space exploration isn’t merely a testament to human ambition or a quest for new territories and resources. Our ventures beyond Earth’s atmosphere are driven by a deeper purpose: to understand better our place in the cosmos and to pioneer innovations that can transform life on our home planet.
While venturing beyond our planet captures the imagination, the true impact of space exploration may be felt much closer to home. Public perception often frames space exploration as a distant endeavor with limited relevance to terrestrial challenges. However, this perspective overlooks the substantial contributions of space programs to our world. By driving technological innovation, expanding our scientific knowledge, and inspiring future generations, space exploration has proven to be an invaluable catalyst for addressing global issues.
Ephemeral architectures, characterized by their temporary and flexible nature, have emerged as powerful tools for revitalizing urban spaces and fostering architectural creativity. These transient installations transform public areas, engaging communities, and prompting reflections on the potential futures of our cities. By temporarily transforming environments, ephemeral architectures encourage both architects and the public to reimagine the possibilities of urban living. This dynamic interplay, between the temporary and the permanent, challenges traditional architectural practices and opens up new avenues for sustainable and inclusive urban development.
One of the most important challenges in architecture, when it comes to creating spaces that work for everyone, is the diversity that exists in people, their needs, and how to integrate them into a design. Disabilities are more than a condition; they are a way of living according to human diversity that requires architectural solutions of equivalent multiplicity.
According to data from the World Bank, it is estimated that 1 billion people –equivalent to 15% of the world's population– live with some type of disability. In the future, this percentage could increase considerably, given the global trend of aging populations. To face this growing challenge, architecture will have to adapt quickly, due to the role that built environments have in constituting a barrier or a path for the inclusion of people with different types of disabilities, seniors, as well as diverse groups who make up the human plurality.
Although more related to evolutionary aspects than to architecture itself, the inherent physical fragility of human beings has required, since prehistoric times, that we protect our bodies and our buildings from external elements. As an example, beginning with the primitive huts used in the earliest forms of domestic architecture, furs were employed as an exterior covering to restrict the flow of air and, consequently, regulate the interior environment.
Subsequently, we have observed an evolution that clearly shows advances in insulation techniques, going from vernacular materials such as adobe to an increase in the thickness of walls using stone or brick, finally reaching the cavity walls developed in the 19th century, which left a small air chamber between an exterior and an interior face of the wall. Its later popularization led to the introduction of insulation between both faces, a system that is widely recognized and used today and has laid the foundations for further developments in this field.
When we talk about technology, we often think of robots, supercomputers, data centers or smartphones. But technology also refers to the invention of the first chipped stone tools or the development of the steam engine, which brought about the first Industrial Revolution. The term comes from the combination of the Greek words techne (art, craft) and logos (word, speech) and is nothing more than the application of knowledge to achieve goals in a specific and reproducible way, for practical purposes. In the construction industry, which moves large amounts of resources and people, more technology means incorporating new methods, tools, automation and software that can improve efficiency. As a historically innovation-resistant industry, the construction sector has a huge impact on the environment due to its carbon emissions and exploitation of raw materials. However, as it turns to the digital world, builders have seen technology as a means to optimize practices and identify, build, and manage their projects.
A group of 31 architects, studios, and designers have been invited to participate in the Sharjah Architecture Triennial from 11 November to 10 March 2024. For its second edition, the Triennial aims to explore innovative design solutions emerging from conditions of scarcity in the Global South. The participants, representing 27 countries, offer a diverse and international response to the theme, addressing its implications for the future of architecture. The Triennial is curated by Tosin Oshinowo and revolves around the theme "The Beauty of Impermanence: An Architecture of Adaptability."
The architecture profession is increasingly facing the pressures of a rapidly changing era marked by urbanization, population growth, and climate change. To effectively navigate the complexities surrounding architectural and urban projects, there has been an acceleration in the adoption and integration of data-driven technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning. However, valid concerns have risen regarding the potential loss of the designer's creative control, with fears that their role may be reduced to a mere "parameter adjuster." Is this a genuine possibility or merely a reflection of resistance to change?
In a conversation with Carl Christensen, Autodesk's Vice President of Product, we delve into the impact of AI on the traditional role of the architect and explore the opportunities that arise with these technological advances. As paradigms shift, forward-thinking architects and designers could find themselves especially empowered to expand their influence and shape a new future for the discipline.
Climatic conditions are changing around the world, and with more extreme temperatures and limited resources, architectural and urban solutions must also change. How could our homes look and function effectively in a post-climate change scenario? Analyzing in detail the forecasts of these climatic variations, the architects of W-LAB have developed a Low-Tech habitat proposal for humid, hot, and arid climates, incorporating bio-materials, transportable solutions, and configurations that promote life in small and resilient communities.
For the 18th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, the Pavilion of Ukraine presents an exhibition titled “Before the Future,” focusing on the paradox of “building a future from a collapsing present.” The intervention reimagines two spaces, one in Arsenale and one in Giardini, to evoke protective structures that have become emblematic of feelings of safety while under threat for Ukrainian society. The curatorial team, composed of Iryna Miroshnykova and Oleksii Petrov, of the Kyiv-based architectural office ФОРМА, and Borys Filonenko, independent curator, art critic, and lecturer, set out to work with specialists from numerous fields to further explore the theme “Laboratory of the Future.”
Dozens of countries around the world have already banned the use of asbestos in the civil construction sector. Cheap to extract and abundant in nature, it is a natural fiber used to manufacture water tanks, insulation, partitions, tiles and decorative elements. Its properties include great flexibility and high chemical, thermal and electrical resistance, making it a seemingly ideal material. However, there is scientific evidence that links exposure to asbestos to several types of cancer, as well as to asbestosis - when the fibers of the mineral lodge in the pulmonary alveoli, compromising the respiratory capacity. The asbestos case shows how certain construction materials can –suddenly or not– become a distant memory because of their negative impacts. In addition to the effects on health, the use of materials with high energy consumption or made of rare raw materials is currently under pressure, as experts call to reduce their use or to make their manufacturing methods "greener". The penalty? Disappearing in the near future, becoming yet another in the list of banned building materials. In this article, we delve into some of these materials and what their risks are.
"The future is already here, it's not just very evenly distributed". Starting off with this William Gibson quote, BIG’s latest publication Formgiving looks at the past and present in order to determine the future. Talking of predictions that aren’t so far down the road, but rather than could occur in 5, 10, or 50 years, the book seeks to “give form to the future”, or to what has not taken shape yet.
ArchDaily had to chance to interview Kai-Uwe Bergmann, Partner at BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group, and discuss not only the firm’s latest manuscript but the trilogy of publications: Yes is More, an “Archicomic on Architectural Evolution”, Hot to Cold an “Odyssey of Architectural Adaptation”, and Formgiving, an “Architectural Future History”.
Although holograms have been a possibility for decades—the first hologram was developed in the early 1960’s following the development of laser technology—many might still associate them more with science fiction, the term conjuring up images of high-tech superhero gadgets and spaceships in the distant future. Yet as we inch closer to the reality of a hyper-technologized future, and a variety of industries—including architecture and construction— begin to embrace new forms of increasingly advanced technology, holography, too, has a chance of completely reshaping the way we conceptualize and experience architecture. While it is impossible to predict exactly how holographic technology will be used in the future, below, we list several examples of existing projects that use holograms and other types of holography to create atmospheric environments, fantastical scenes, and practical visualizations. These examples move beyond the use of holograms to visualize structures and sites during the design phase; they utilize holography to shape the completed architectural space itself, completely altering the sensory and spatial experience of their environment.
This article was originally published on Common Edge.
Martin C. Pedersen discusses with Frank Stasiowski, the founder and president of PSMJ Resources, his take on AI and the future of the profession. The author explains that six years ago he "interviewed Frank Stasiowski, the founder and president of PSMJ Resources, a management consulting firm that specializes in architecture, engineering, and construction firms. In addition to advising firms on strategic and growth planning, leadership and succession plans, mergers and acquisitions, and a host of other issues, Stasiowski spends a lot of his time analyzing where the industry is likely to evolve in the future, especially as technology takes an increasingly important role". Finding him one of the keenest observers of the industry, Pedersen talked to Stasiowski to get his opinion on AI and the future of the architectural profession.
Believing firmly that "architecture is [...] too important to leave solely to architects", Ole Bouman embarked on diverse activities throughout his three decades of work, reflecting on “architecture, not so much as the art or technique of making buildings, but architecture as the intelligent way to organize our lives on earth, and infuse it with purpose”.
After having shared Bouman's essay Finding Measure, ArchDaily had the chance to discuss with Design Society’s founding director his thoughts on the role of architecture, the current challenges of the world, the digital revolution, and many other thought-provoking topics.
As the world is slowly reopening, easing lockdown measures, everyone is adapting to new realities. Imposing drastic adjustments to our lives, the coronavirus has introduced a new “normal”, changing our perceptions and altering our priorities. Driven towards questioning and evaluating our environment, we are constantly reacting and anticipating a relatively unknown future.
A casual conversation between two editors at ArchDaily generated this collaborative piece that seeks to investigate the current trends, predict the future, and offer insights to everyone/everything related to the architectural field. Tackling the evolution of the profession, the firms, and the individuals, especially young adults and students, this article, produced by Christele Harrouk and Eric Baldwin, aims to reveal what is happening in the architecture scene.
