In a world where buildings today are primarily static, not very responsive and not very well optimized, it will be intriguing to see what algorithm design for architecture can do — particularly when coupled with other fields like nanotechnology, biomimicry and neuroscience.

As an occupant, I know I would want to have a building that can adapt to meet my needs as I need them. And while it does this, I would want it to look as beautiful as ever. As a building owner, I would want a building that could adapt to not only my business needs, but also be able to adapt to the changes that arise during my building’s lifespan.

Instead of reinventing the wheel by designing built forms that make their occupants adapt to them, it is my hope that algorithmic architecture combined nanotechnology, biomimicry and neuroscience can yield buildings that adapt to their occupants.

This new wave of building design can really make buildings more fluid, flexible and adaptively optimized to not only meet today’s rapidly evolving needs, but to also yield built space that is ultimately healthier, happier, less stressful and more resilient.

An algorithmic architecture will be a big part of the architecture field’s ability to open Read more

How do you begin to model systems and processes that nature teaches? How do you translate your discoveries and breakthroughs to help in your design process, making you a better designer?

Well, I found a pine cone the other day. It was tiny, well formed, delicate at the tips and solid at the base. Yes, that is and of itself quite beautiful and enough to inspire most creative thinkers in their design efforts. However, we live in a day and age where, with nature, we can delve much deeper by changing our perspective and interpretation.

Questions like — Why was that pinecone laying where it was? How did it get there? Where did it come from? What is inside? If I take it apart, what do its elements actually do? How do they function? What is it made of? How does it travel through air? What does it protect? How? Why? And When? You get the idea…

For architects, there is an entire mindset shift going on in our profession. New ways to Read more

Yes, findings stemming from the worlds of science and technology are painting a new era that we are already beginning.

When cutting-edge paradigm-shifts occur, like new perspectives on nature that make methods like Biomimicry and BioDigital Architecture possible, I still wonder how these, combined with other factors like culture, globalization, personal preferences, lifestyle trends and geographic land characteristics will impact what we, as architectural visionaries, paint for the future.

Well, the future is happening now and as different cultures help to mold, embrace and even reject what design visionaries bring forward, I find it fascinating to uncover how Read more

As the relation between biomimicry, nanotechnology and new computing software evolves, a key design strategy surfaces — and a key aspect to that design strategy is BioDigital Architecture. In this branch of study and research, designers use different computer processes (algorithmic, for example) to grow architectural living systems. And these “living systems” are derived from, what Dennis Dollens describes as, metaphors of nature.

Designers can learn to understand nature in new terms, asking a different line of questions than usual. To design BioDigital Architecture, one must tap into the qualities of nature that motivate its cycles and response systems. And as you will see in the video below, Dennis Dollens lectures on exactly what that can mean for buildings.

I agree with Dollens that we can design and build better buildings by moving beyond our present-day “piece-meal” approach where separate components come together to yield a “sustainable” building. First, the window systems must coordinate with Read more

Will Your Design Vision Work?

So often, as a designer, you must think about how your design vision will impact your occupants — planning for a not-to-distant future where your vision will be realized and used. For this, you may rely heavily on your own experience of what you think works and what does not, and you may probe into your occupant’s life to understand their likes, dislikes and so on.

Still, there is so much left to simply “hoping” you made the right design decisions for your occupant; and it is time that will tell the success or failure of your built work. Yet, there are new and arising fields that can and will help your architectural design process, as you strive to make informed and talented decisions with your building designs — helping you to stand apart from the rest.

These fields include neuroscience, biomimicry and nanotechnology.

Sharpen Your Innovative Edge

Eventually, new findings in neuroscience will meet head on with other rising fields like nanotechnology and biomimicry, and this meeting will certainly yield some new techniques for you, as an architect, to greatly expand upon (and in some cases completely revamp) what goes into your building design stages.

As it is, architects already must “predict” the future to some extent, but the best way to increase your probability of creating a successful design that works well is to learn more about Read more

When You Think of “Skin”…What’s the First Thing You Think Of?

Have you ever compared building skin to human skin? Well, with new developments like nanotechnology, smart materials and ubiquitous computing the time is ripe to revisit the inner-workings of the human body’s largest organ. After all, there is much to learn by taking a closer look at what lies beneath its surface — particularly as it relates to architecture.

What do you typically think of when you think of “building skin”? Does it primarily function to keep the exterior outside and the interior inside? Or do you use it to bring the outside in within certain parts like windows, ducts and doors? Perhaps you have a more avant-garde way of working with “skin” — using it as part of your architectural language that allows your building to communicate with both its interior and exterior at the same time.

Wherever you may be in your ideas and way of designing building skin, I’m sure that the human skin can help to reinforce and spark new ideas for your architectural designs. You might be surprised to discover that there are many similarities between these two “skins”, and in essence, they are both there to protect and to communicate.

Can Human Skin Inspire Your Designs?

For starters, I want to show you this simple video that clearly shows how the human skin operates physiologically. Now is a good time to watch this sneak peek:

Notice any similarities between what human skin needs to do and Read more

As new emerging technologies surface, the idea of “transition” will take on entirely new form. Not only will “transition” continue to exist between building materials (like you see in buildings today), but “transition” will also be present within a material’s properties — changing the very nature of how a particular material behaves at any given time.

For instance, smart materials will be able to change in real time as certain variables like temperature, light or stress trigger them. Similarly, new sensing technologies will come together to yield smart environments where ubiquitous computing is tuned to give occupants a more personalized experience.

Furthermore, as nanotechnology and biomimetic systems rise into the forefront, you as an architect will need to consistently rethink how building materials typically function — by building for them from the bottom up.

The “rules” behind designing for material behavior are changing and new smart material systems will give you a new kind of flexibility which you can optimize by taking both function and form to entirely new levels.

A key to doing this is to rethink your notion of Read more

NATURE AS INSPIRATION

By taking a look around, designers can find inspiration everywhere – particularly in nature. Nature provides us with an amazing array of solutions for many complex problems that we face today – the quest to learn from nature in this way is “biomimicry”, and architecture can benefit from this kind of approach.

At times what may seem as “simple” in nature can translate to better design solutions that are more efficient, sustainable and healthy. Yes, nature is inspirational but it is also a part of our world which we can study more deeply – extracting creative solutions that we can apply today.

WHAT IS BIOMIMICRY?

Most all designers will benefit from studying certain aspects of nature. As buildings now face a whole myriad of problems that need solutions, it may be in nature that architects can find Read more