ABPL90117 Twenty-first Century Architecture Semester2, 2016 SEONGHOON SHAWN LEE, 594917
Embrace Technology (Word document format) Seonghoon Lee The architect always has been a reflection of the spirit of an era. In the past, the architect tried its best to imply the spirit of the time and at the same time, projected the vision of the future. Humanity discovered a new knowledge during Industrial Revolution and with the evolution of advanced technology that emerged in architecture and this all combined to create what's now known as the modern architect. In the 21st-century we live in, the role of architect is still changing. Digital technology has advanced and became a common ground. In addition, from planning a blueprint, communication, form and building methods all have changed. Especially, communication methods have changed through the internet and now a vast number of people exchange their creative ability to make products, homes and machines. This movement is called ‘Open Source Architecture,' (OSA) and it was made possible to build buildings easily with affordable materials. Architects, designers, and engineers come together and volunteer their expertise to solve problems in design issues, make creative innovations, and make custom designs to order. One of the reasons why people are so passionate about which ideas like OSA is due to the margin of difference between rich and poor which has increased significantly during the 21st-century and architecture became one of the tools to generate wealth. The rich own houses more than they need and generate wealth from them. Young people without wealthy parents have to make money all their lives to live in one. Also, in the past people were not concerned about conserving use of natural materials in buildings, so we have to face the result of those thoughtless actions. Therefore architects must listen to the people and understand the current times. The architect of modern spirit should be based on affordable price and environmental-friendly design and adaptable space for the fast-changing pace of trend and culture. Advanced technology not only changes the architectural design but also our daily lives within the architecture. The digitalized modern society is not only going to send and receive the blueprints of the buildings but also, able to saved them in archive, revolutionising the modern buyer’s experience. Without visiting
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the physical site, the virtual reality technology will allow buyer’s to interact with their future home. If the 20th-century architect was focused on advancing the technology, the 21st century is focused on how the advanced technology can utilize platform like Open Source and how it can be adapted into people's lives and how it can assist in protecting our environment.
Embracing new technologies to our daily lives and architecture After the Industrial Revolution, new technologies lead to changes in architecture. The new materials and methods opened up the technology of the architect industry. The use of digital technology became common in our daily life as well as in designing architecture. Digital technology development changed the way of planning, communicating, and designing in new ways of building houses. Production has moved from the factory and is now possible in a small 3D Printer at home. And through OSA, everyone can become more involved with the design of their home. Many people now use the internet to share ideas to create better designs. It is the new 21st century platform used to discuss interesting ways of thinking. Digital technology developments lead the 2nd Industrial Revolution. OSA is one of the recognisable outcomes of it. The system is made to freely share blueprints of the building between people and can be custom designed to meet user's need. Instructions provided on how to assemble affordable materials for everyday people. Due to various economic situations, Open Source is now also popular for middle-class families. The advanced technology has been developed to meet the needs of people. However, OSA's design approach is not the best solution for modern architecture. Carlo Ratti celebrates the advantages of OSA in his book ‘Open source architecture' the introduction of OSA and advantages of it. Contrary to the positive side of OSA, he also writes about the problems that Open Source must consider and solve such as, labor economics, the role of professionals and scarcity of natural resources.1 As Ratti suggests the problem of the human labor economy, OSA can be an easy design approach. When the machine cuts the parts, human labors must assemble them. The system to build pieces of material parts might be unmanned, but the rest requires human hands. As Ratti mentioned, CNC routers and 3D printer and drones are common in our daily lives.2 Professor Raffaello D'Andrea from ETH Zurich University in Switzerland was successful building a 6-meter high brick wall with 1,500 bricks with a drone in 2011.3 Using a drone to build a building is not farfetched. If we can use simple buildings from OSA with unmanned drone technology, the labor cost and time is going to decrease. This is most appropriate for natural disaster zones. 1
Ratti, C. and Claudel, M. (2015) Open source architecture. United Kingdom: Thames & Hudson. (Ratti and Claudel, 2015, p. 96) 2 Ratti, C. (2015) Open source architecture.. 3 ZĂźrich, E.T.H. (2016) Flying machine enabled construction. Available at: http://www.idsc.ethz.ch/researchdandrea/research-projects/archive/flying-machine-enabled-construction.html (Accessed: 10 November 2016).
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If the 20th-century was the time of democracy of design, the 21st-century is the time of democracy of manufacture with 3D printer and CNC. All of the essential material pieces for a house can be made with CNC or 3D printer, prefabricate parts and modulized for the public. This benefits the process of building, reduces danger and costs, and is environmentally friendly. The advantage of prefabrication is the precision of product that could save time dramatically. The mistakes found on the parts can be easily replaced. OSA is focused on creating a building. So once it's made, it's impossible to change the structure. Imagine if the part is attachable and detachable into pieces, it'll be possible to change the space of the room or shape of the living room. Also, if it is a temporary building, it is possible to take part the building and reassemble it, allowing it to be recyclable. Production of the materials construction method of OSA is going to marry well with the fast changing lifestyle of modern people.
Figure 1. D’Andrea, Raffaello. (2015) Flight Assembled Architecture [Photograph].4
The impact of the environment onto architecture The environmental issues had a huge impact in architecture in the 21st-century. In the past, we had seemingly endless material resources in nature. As the importance of environment became an issue, we came to realize that the resources are limited, and we need to preserve them for the next generation. In the past, function, beauty, and structure were the three main principles, now one more component has been added. If the architect does not consider the environment, it is not treated as well-designed architecture. Since resources are limited, we can only find
D’Andrea, R. (2015) Flight Assembled Architecture [Photograph]. Available at: https://www.dezeen.com/2015/03/03/movie-drones-building-architecture-ammar-mirjan-gramazio-kohler/ (Accessed: 10 November 2016). 4
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some of the materials locally, and each area has different accessibility to the necessary materials. OSA is widely used new technology based on sharing ideas to build affordable houses, but it is not fully considered as an environmental friendly building. Most of the materials are plywood which is made through a chemical process, but it is used for its low price and availability. The plywood is not the best option. The paper has been considered the most environmental friendly material. It is affordable, light weight in comparison to plywood, easily accessible and even recyclable. Shigeru Ban has been building in natural disaster zones with paper materials.5 He is known for his paper architecture. The paper pillar that he introduced was made by compressing 24 sheets of paper through a special method.6 This resulted in the material being resistance against rain, fire, and it can withstand 10-ton weight. 7 Also, the material is 100% recyclable generating no environmental waste. Buildings made with environmental friendly materials an ideal way for the architect to consider the environment and the human at the same time to enhance the quality of life. This type of architecture which preserves the environment, should be the way of building in the 21st-century.
Figure 2. Ban, Shigeru. (2013) Cardboard Cathedral [Photograph].8
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Team, A.E. (2014) The humanitarian works of Shigeru ban. Available at: http://www.archdaily.com/489255/thehumanitarian-works-of-shigeru-ban (Accessed: 10 November 2016). 6 Corp, K. (2011) Chinhwangyung Gunchuk-e-ran? Available at: http://m.blog.daum.net/coco8461/164 (Accessed: 10 November 2016). 7 Corp, K. (2011) Chinhwangyung Gunchuk-e-ran?. 8 Ban, S. (2013) Cardboard Cathedral [Photograph]. Available at: http://www.archdaily.com/489255/the-humanitarianworks-of-shigeru-ban/532b24a8c07a803a1c00001e-the-humanitarian-works-of-shigeru-ban-photo (Accessed: 10 November 2016).
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Adapting new technologies, towards future lifestyle In this fast pace technology driven the world, people prefer to build houses that customizable custom design to order and change the way of experience methods of the houses. Most of the blueprints have changed its form from physical to digital, and we are living in the society where the information can be exchanged through the internet. Mario Carpo discusses the how the digital technology makes our lives different regarding storing, searching for information and application in his article, ‘New Science of Form Searching.' In the past, it was hard to store and share information. Modern technology made it possible for us to find the information, not only in a compressed form but also raw form.9 It can be saved even in a three-dimensional form. Carpo insists that when enough information is saved in an archive, we no longer have to build new structures for architecture as it will be possible to find a similar structure in the archives.10 We can access the information via online, but we still exchange sales no different than back in 19th century. Most of buyers go to a real estate agent to look for houses and visit the home with a realtor to determine whether we like it or not. People in modern society have limited time, and if the distance is far, we can only view the property in pictures. Virtual reality technology is main stream, and anyone can access this technology via their smartphones. The architect designs a house with 3D models to allow people to experience their future homes. What if these kinds of materials are saved in online Archive and applied in realtor business? This allows for an allencompassing experience for the buyer to ensure they make the right choice.
Figure 3. MinViz, (2015) Immersice 3D Visualisation made possible with Virtual Reality11
Carpo, M. (2015) ‘The new science of form-searching’, Architectural Design, 85(5), pp. 22–27. doi: 10.1002/ad.1949. Carpo, M. (2015) ‘The new science of form-searching’. 11 MintViz (2015) Immersive 3D Visualisation made possible with virtual reality. Available at: http://www.workshop.mintviz.com/features/articles/immersive-3d-visualisation-made-possible-with-virtual-reality/ (Accessed: 10 November 2016). 9
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The image was created to using virtual reality with 360-degree rendering. Using virtual reality headset gear you will be able to see the image in 3D, and it will help you to understand the space, in real life. The headset gear is made by Google to be used in Open Source platform, and Google itself shares detailed blueprints of architecture that you can download. The digital technology is already applied in so many industries. So why not in architecture? This application of virtual reality technology is not too far into the future and, it is going to change the housing market forever.
Conclusion Nothing remains the same. There's nothing infinite. Architecture is always moving forward by adapting new technologies. Like how it was in the past, the architect must represent the spirit of this fast changing society and technology development era. We lived within nature that the earth provided, however we are currently living in the artificial environment which is made by humans. And the need for change is more desperate than ever. In the future, the architecture must be reborn to satisfy the needs of people in modern society. Architecture in the 21st-century should be defined as having an affordable price, customized production, built without professional, and houses considers both human and nature.
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Bibliography 1. Ban, S. (2013) Cardboard Cathedral [Photograph]. Available at: http://www.archdaily.com/489255/the-humanitarian-works-of-shigeruban/532b24a8c07a803a1c00001e-the-humanitarian-works-of-shigeru-ban-photo (Accessed: 10 November 2016). 2. Carpo, M. (2015) ‘The new science of form-searching’, Architectural Design, 85(5), pp. 22–27. doi: 10.1002/ad.1949. 3. Corp, K. (2011) Chinhwangyung Gunchuk-e-ran? Available at: http://m.blog.daum.net/coco8461/164 (Accessed: 10 November 2016). 4. D’Andrea, R. (2015) Flight Assembled Architecture [Photograph]. Available at: https://www.dezeen.com/2015/03/03/movie-drones-building-architecture-ammar-mirjangramazio-kohler/ (Accessed: 10 November 2016). 5. MintViz (2015) Immersive 3D Visualisation made possible with virtual reality. Available at: http://www.workshop.mintviz.com/features/articles/immersive-3d-visualisationmade-possible-with-virtual-reality/ (Accessed: 10 November 2016). 6. Ratti, C. and Claudel, M. (2015) Open source architecture. United Kingdom: Thames & Hudson. 7. Team, A.E. (2014) The humanitarian works of Shigeru ban. Available at: http://www.archdaily.com/489255/the-humanitarian-works-of-shigeru-ban (Accessed: 10 November 2016). 8. Zürich, E.T.H. (2016) Flying machine enabled construction. Available at: http://www.idsc.ethz.ch/research-dandrea/research-projects/archive/flying-machineenabled-construction.html (Accessed: 10 November 2016).
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