Top 4 Technological Trends that are Changing Architecture
Technology is accelerating exponentially in what author Ray Kurzweil terms as the law of accelerating returns which basically says that the rate of change in any system (which is not limited to technology) is exponential and not linear. Just think that just over four decades ago, almost no one owned a personal computer, and now, almost everybody has a portable computer/ phone in their hand.
Technology has permeated all of the world’s industry – fashion, design, architecture, and even construction. It wasn’t that long ago when the construction and architecture industry made use of blueprints printed on actual paper. Nowadays the AEC industry uses project management software for the construction industry to streamline and manage their construction processes as well as organize their digital blueprints.
But, the technological advancement in the construction and architectural industry doesn’t stop just at using apps for project management and blueprint digitization. New advancements in materials, design, and technology are changing the way buildings are designed and built. Here are four top technological trends that are poised to change construction and architecture as we know it.
Trend 1: Touchable Holograms
Fans of the science fiction series Star Trek should be familiar with the Holodeck- a place where holograms come to life and you can interact with them. And while the Holodeck is a standard in the Star Trek universe, interacting with a hologram is just wishful thinking in the real world, or is it? Japanese scientists headed by Dr. Yoichi Ochiai of Tsukuba University have successfully developed a touchable hologram.
The researchers use Femtosecond technology ( the same technology used for laser cataract surgery) that projects 3-D virtual objects to be projected and controlled by touch. This holographic system named Fairy Lights fires a high-frequency laser in pulses lasting one femtosecond (millionth of a billionth of a second). If you’re wondering how these holograms feel when you touch them, Dr. Yoichi says that it feels like sandpaper, although some lucky people who got to touch this technology likened it to a static shock.
Although this technology is still being refined, touchable holograms have the potential to change the way architects manage blueprints, as well as manage construction designs. At the very least, it will make a very impressive presentation when
Trend 2: Virtual Reality /Augmented Reality
Imagine giving your client a tour of a building that he commissioned to be built -even before a single brick has been even laid. That is the power of virtual reality and augmented reality. What was once just something that started in the gaming world is now slowly being incorporated into the architecture practices across the globe.
People tend to use the term VR ( Virtual Reality ) and AR ( Augmented Reality) interchangeably. Although both technologies start off with a 3D model, and both AR and VR are a way to view these models outside of the screen, they are not the same.
AR ( Augmented Reality) superimposes objects or design into the real world. Augmented reality became known thru a very popular App that swept the gaming world called Pokemon Go. This is where gamers would attempt to ‘catch’ the pokemon that seemed to appear thru their phone lenses. VR, on the other hand, creates a virtual world which is accessible by wearing virtual reality glasses.
Trend 3: Parametric Architecture and 3D Printing
Parametric design is something that’s also slowly making waves in the architectural industry. With this kind of design, architects can basically make shapes that might not be possible with the typical 3D system that they are using now.
With parametric design, architects don’t just design a building, they can build and control shapes using a series of parameters ( dimensions, patterns, wall thickness, etc.). This means that they are now able to design buildings that might have been deemed impossible to design before.
One of the limits to parametric architecture is the construction and materials that are available because these might not be as flexible to fit what the architect has designed. But this can change soon with the new materials that are becoming available for 3D printing. In fact, just recently in 2018, a Dutch company has successfully 3D printed a bridge from steel. This bridge is set to be installed in a canal somewhere in Amsterdam sometimes in 2019. With new materials constantly being developed, it might not be long before we can see 3D printed, designed with parametric architecture.
Trend 4: Carbon Concrete
Graphene is dubbed as the super material of the future because it is thinner than paper but is stronger than steel. At the atomic level, graphene is made from the same material as the pencil that you use every day but the atoms are arranged in a different way – in a single layer hexagonal arrangement. And, it is in this arrangement that gives graphene its amazing properties.
There are many ways that different industries can make use of graphene, and in the AEC industry, research is underway to make a graphene composite that they call carbon concrete. In carbon concrete, graphene is added to concrete in a variety of ways, resulting in a stronger and lighter construction material which doesn’t corrode. This kind of material can revolutionize construction and architecture in ways that we have never seen before, and can completely change the way buildings will be built in the near future.
There is a lot of interest in this material, and Germany is leading the research on carbon concrete in what they’ve dubbed as the C3 project. In fact, Germany has invested about 5 Million Euros for the first 2 story carbon house to be built in the Technical University of Dresden.
At the rate that this material is being developed and researched, it won’t be long before we will see buildings and houses made out of carbon concrete composite.
Technology is moving at a dizzying rate, and it doesn’t show signs of stopping. And it is very exciting to think of how our future dwellings will be made, and from what it will be made of. In our history, mankind lived in caves, then in houses made of clay, and now buildings made of steel and concrete. And who knows how our houses will look like in the near future. With new technologies constantly evolving, the possibilities are only limited to as far as our imagination can take us.