With the approaching year, we find it common around us these quirky “ten-year challenges”. But what about the future? With ever-changing technologies, working pattern shifts are a common scene. Architecture has come a long way since the beginning as architects adopt these technologies for faster and efficient work. One on hand where one sees the advancements in the past decade it is also mind-boggling to expect some exciting breakthroughs helping the industry in even better working strategies.
Technology has always been a genuine friend to the construction industry and more so to the architects to help take up more projects that can be wrapped up in an appropriate amount of time.
1. 3D Printing
3D printing is the coming big step that the construction industry is walking towards. The recent buzz about 3D printed houses and buildings around the world is observed.
Cities like Dubai, Shanghai, etc. are setting examples for exemplary achievements.
2. BIM
Building Information Modelling is a newer approach to design and construction in which all disciplines collaborate to create a complete, virtual model of the building, long before ground is broken.
BIM software tools and the overall process of re-engineering the design-to-construction workflow have become the focus of most architectural and engineering design firms as well as contractors.
2D CAD is quickly becoming a thing of the past for those seeking real-time model analysis and 3D visualization. File-sharing, interference checking, and energy optimization can be completed much more easily by utilizing BIM.
3. Smart Devices
A decade from now, mobile phones will have features that we see in movies and read in science fiction novels. One feature that is pretty standard in movies – from Star Wars to Avengers – is the hologram. It is likely that by 2030, holographic displays will be commonplace on smartphones.
What an amazing experience it will be for the client to actually see a live size holographic display of the project! Or maybe the coming big presentation deals are sealed through holograph shows.
4. Virtual Reality
Many of the problems found today in the construction industry are directly correlated with the inability of field personnel, designers, architects and engineers to truly experience a project before it is built. Virtual Reality can solve this problem. 3D modeling and BIM programs, which have impacted the field of project modeling, can now be adapted to VR tools to visualize a fully virtual representation of an idea in a new dimension at a relatively low cost. VR can be used to aid sales giving prospective customers a view of the finished product, even when it is under construction.
5. Artificial Intelligence and Robot Companions
The field of AI is over 60 years old, but it is only in recent years, with the advent of massive computational power and storage, that AI is extensively used in business strategies and for technologies advancements. Experts feel there is no area that will be left untouched by AI, but the prominent ones that have captured people’s imagination are self-driving cars, personalized medicine, new ways of teaching and the combination of AI and Robotics.
It is thus safe to say, with such a combination it might take an interesting route within the architecture industry and how the field welcomes it.
“Robotic construction and 3D printing are the future” –Wolf D Prix
6. Rotating Skyscrapers
Dubai is set to exhibit its first-ever rotating skyscraper. This means that there will be fewer disputes for the choice of facing the flat and the view of one desire. Further, it expands the possibility of amazing kinetic architecture to learn from.
“The Dynamic Tower will have 80 floors that are capable of rotating a full 360 degrees, letting tenants and hotel guests select their own personal views via voice command. However, even more, impressive than the unique twisting feature is the project’s sustainability profile – the entire building will be powered by the sun and wind energy.” – Inhabitat.com
7. Sustainability
Sustainable architecture holds the key to an environmentally positive future. Only by living more economically with our resources can we hope to protect our environment and climate.
The philosophy behind the sustainable architecture is all about reducing waste. This not only means physical waste but minimizing energy loss as well. By keeping the energy, we consume within our building for as long as possible, we need less supply in the first place. Using less energy to keep us comfortable means that we can become environmentally responsible and more resource-efficient, which are both vital to reducing the effects of climate change.
