[i m a g i n e an address to a publisher. (‘i m a g i n e’ is written using the t e c h n o l o g y of a computer)]…
…We tend to look at technology as something neutral, often good even, and we forget that it is something we have created, and that it has the potential to become quite dangerous. Its use in architecture needs to be re-evaluated through a deeper understanding of how we think, imagine and conceive; and with this in mind, we may be able to use the technology at our disposal in a more informed manner. Here is what I propose: TECHNOLOGY AND IMAGINATION Technology has revolutionized architecture and the spaces we create today - from parametric design to bio mimicry. This change is not limited to just the formal aspects of a building, but also applies to the way in which we imagine and design spaces. Technology has merged into our everyday life so undiscernibly, that we need to step back and reflect on how we use it, its scope, and limitations, in order to not become mere unthinking followers of it. There is a prevailing notion that both technology and imagination, are boundless. It is actually a cyclical relationship, where they both feed off of each other. There may not be a perceivable limit to what we can do with such power at hand. But are they really boundless? If not, then what are these boundaries and how do they expand or change or flex? This is the primary question that this books aims to explore. It looks at both these aspects individually, and then tries to see how they could work together. Here are some brief thoughts on each one of them. IMAGINATION: Since an imagined idea does not exist in the physical realm, it would be safe to say that imagination does not have any boundaries or tangible and perceivable limits. So, how much can the human mind perceive of what is not known to it? How much of this perception can be substantiated in the physical realm? Does the mind have limits or boundaries of its own that come along with living in three dimensions? It takes incredible imagination to look beyond the limitations of what is known and see what could possibly be. And it takes even greater imagination to make sure that venturing beyond the current understanding still stays within the bounds of reason. TECHNOLOGY is a broad word and it is crucial in the case of technology to see how its boundaries stretch with time. Since the pre-historic times, the human species has used natural resources to make simple tools - from sharpening stones, to making weapons, to discovering fire. Here, the use of the skill to make the tool is technology. Then, this tool can be used for something else – the sharp stone might be used to kill an animal, and hence the tool becomes the technology. So technology is not just an object or a tool or a machine, it is also what goes behind the making of the object, and this could include the use of multiple technologies. The more technologies used to create an object, the more complex the outcome thus achieved. Today when the word ‘technology’ is used, it not only includes the creation of complex machinery such as airplanes, computers and cellular phones, but also involves the evolution of conceptions such as space, space-time, genetics and virtual reality. In the field of architecture, there can be two different connotations with which the term technology is associated – one is in the manifestation of architecture, the way the steel or concrete or any other material is used, the method of construction. The second is during the inception of the design, in the first stage of translating their idea into the ‘real’ world. Keeping in mind the increasing nature of complexity in technology, the book looks at the latter association of technology with architecture. This research could hence be of interest to practicing architects, along with anyone who is interested in the built environment. Psychologists could be interested in this study, and could even choose to take it a step further to look that the imagination part of this study little more close through their greater understanding of the human mind. People who work on developing computer aided design software could find this relevant too, and just as the psychologists, they could take it further in their own tangent of interest and expertise. …[i m a g i n e closing lines to a publisher. (‘i m a g i n e’ is written using the t e c h n o l o g y of a computer)]