Image: nate steiner | Flickr

Samsung has come out with a transparent smart window, and I think it will be interesting to see how this impacts architectural design. You see, such a smart window provides much added functionality — particularly if certain apps get created for this particular “window-type” smart use.

Now, before I go on, I’d like to show you what these transparent smart windows look like. Here’s the video:

So, will such a smart window do much to improve architectural design? Or could it destroy an architectural design if not integrated correctly? Well, I think it can do both, depending on how it’s used.

I think the placement of such smart windows will be paramount, as will attention to making sure technology isn’t getting in the way. You see, such a smart window is really all about what is going on inside of a room. But I question — what will happen if the window begins to use apps that also take into account what is going on in the nearby exterior? What if the window becomes more truly interactive?

Suddenly, this transparent smart window will act as a Read more

Image Credit: Wolfgang Staudt | Flickr

A recent study was done, mentioned in The Economist article entitled Pricing and the Brain: Hitting the Spot, where actual changes within the brain occur that substantiate this: If told something is more valuable, then a person actually enjoys it more. As the article explains, there may be something to this involving expectation. So how does this relate to architectural design?

Well, what if upon entering a building, someone told you that it was designed by a very famous and prestigious architect? Do you think you would enjoy your experience within that building more than if you didn’t know this fact? Perhaps you would pay more attention to the building, its details, and engage with it more than if you had never known about its renowned creator. Would you take extra time while within the building to savor it? My guess is that the average person probably would.

But the implication of this notion of heightened perceived value affecting architectural enjoyment doesn’t end there. Read more

Image: jurvetson | Flickr

Lately, many technologies are surfacing that help with the tracking of a person’s physiological signals for health. Such a technology is sleep tracking technology which monitors heart rate, movement, and breathing. So, when a person lies in bed sleeping, data is being collected about the quality of that person’s sleep. (1)

Yet, what can you, as an architect, do with such data to help your occupants? And can architecture be the go-between that pulls from data which tracks health, to emitting environmental stimuli which promotes health? Well, I say the answer to the latter question is yes, and for the answer to the first question: read on.

Just imagine if the two could work together: tracking health and promoting health. With tracking, you would find health problems, and with promoting you would treat and prevent health problems. Thus, to make this work, the tracking device and the architecture would need to communicate.

As the device detects shifts in the Read more

“Invoked computing” is a term being used to describe how everyday objects can gain mega-functionality by having computer functions applied to them. These developments predict a world where there are no location-specific computers like we have today, but where everyday objects can be used as computers — even a banana, as you will see in the following video demonstration.

There is a point where architecture works hand-in-hand with the objects within it: such as in a museum which houses artifacts in exhibits or in a home which makes way for different technological installations like phones, televisions, and computers. That is where we are today, but what about tomorrow?
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There is a principle when it comes to systems optimization which says that if one part of the system is broken, you should look at the part just before it — because it is likely that that is where the problem really originates from. And to me, this principle can be carried through into architecture as you begin to look at how an occupant travels through built forms, from space to space, or from room to room. I think of course that the design of the grand featured and climactic gesture within an architecture is of paramount importance, but I also think that the transition which leads occupants into and from that featured space is of extremely high importance as well. With a transitional space within architecture, you have the power to “set up” an occupant impression. You can give them hints about what is to come, or you can minimize what awaits them to ultimately give them a grand surprise. Similarly, as an occupant exits a main and grand featured architectural space, a transition can help them to synthesize what they have experienced, as they form their last memories and impressions that they will carry with them once exited. Transitions can occur in the exterior and the interior, and within what is between the two. The key is to think about transition as a means of preparation for what is next, or synthesis of what has come. Because your occupants will always be taking next steps as they experience your building, those transitions will help them to synthesize what they are experiencing, while also preparing them for the desirable reaction which you as a designer hope for.

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Boundary within building design involves factors like layering, filtering, and opening or closing. It is a way for you as an architect to communicate to your occupants about where they were, where they are, and where they are going. While boundaries do define, they also reveal — by allowing different entities or spaces to communicate with each other through your buildings occupants’ perceptions. The way your boundary is handled during building design will likely determine how your occupant travels through it, their ability to create a mental map to form memories of the place, and their ability to communicate with their environment, each other, and the exterior world around them. So think of boundary as more than a line which separates two entities — also think of it as a bridge by which those two entities can interrelate. And the way you design your boundaries determine exactly how those two entities interrelate — ultimately impacting how your occupants think, feel, and behave.

Featured Image Takeaway Design Strategy:

There are many aspects within architecture that designers currently take for granted simply because they have been done the same way for so long. While there is reason and need to meet proper building codes and other regulations, I still do think it is good for a design to question even those aspects which seem to not need questioning. Take for instance Carlo Scarpa’s stair, where his design redefines how one might think of and use a stair — where each step, left and right, moves you upward along its path. When encountering such an innovation in design, just imagine what your occupants might think and feel as they travel through. For instance, is such a Scarpa stair preparing them as an entrance would? Or could it be an exit from a memorable building experience? The main idea is to challenge the assumptions which you take for granted, to not always let yourself settle into that “default” way of thinking, and to open up opportunities for you to explore ways in which to enrich your occupants’ experiences as they journey through your building.

To Apply This Strategy, Ask Yourself:

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Variation in building design can contribute a lot toward achieving a harmonic design balance. Unified designs often celebrate differences as much as they celebrate sameness, and it is the interaction between the two that may yield a simple complexity. Be aware that your variation does not turn into complication — but instead celebrates needed and essential differences that contribute to the strength of your building design works. Additionally, variation gives way to hierarchy and structure, both of which help in stripping away its unnecessary complications. The key is to tap into the core of your design, where you remove the unessential to reveal what is most meaningful, simply and beautifully. So use the notion of variation to determine, if within your work, what is complex has given way to what is complicated. If it has, delve into reaching into the essence and core of your design by studying its variations— for I think that they will reveal the essential differences and samenesses that will make your work something meaningful to experience.

With so many buildings in the world today, how do you know when you experience innovation in architecture? I think innovation in architecture can happen at different scales, in different cultures and at different times. The following slideshow is an exploration into understanding when you experience innovation, so that you can extract meaning and knowledge from those experiences to ultimately bring back what you learn from them to inject that into your work.

Thus, each photograph within the slideshow below represents an answer to the following question:

When Do You Experience Innovation in Architecture?

Please Tell Me What You Think

I would really like to get your feedback on my post today, so please leave me a comment in the form below. And if you enjoyed it, make sure you share it with your Twitter and Facebook followers by clicking on the “re-tweet” and “like” button at the beginning of this page.

Image Credits (in order of appearance): Flickr —
Sven Lindner, inspiration_seeker, jglsongs, Jakob Montrasio, George Lu, CHRISTOPHER MACSURAK, sergis blog.

Image: Patrick Haney | Flickr

I invite you to think about how you can use dynamic installations within your built form designs to enhance effects for your occupants as they travel and experience your buildings. For example, with video installations you may make a statement, create a new kind of beauty or even “reframe” something that has been in existence without changing for a long time.

The Crown Fountain in Millennium Park, Chicago, presents quite a unique experience. Through video that is integrated into its built form, this design brings forth activity, meaning and engagement for its users. As you can see in the image above, the video (of the face) has been set to synchronize with natural elements that are also in motion — and as water springs forward, human curiosity to engage is triggered.

By giving built form a way to reframe its context in real time — where LED lights light the front face of each tower as water streams outward — the combination between nature (in this case water), built form, and video create such a unique dialogue that those experiencing it will likely Read more