We’ve always studied history of architecture. From man living in caves to colonies and now in the concrete jungles. We dug up the evidence, artifacts, leftovers and studied all about the ancient living styles. Earlier, architecture started with the basic human needs for shelter. Later as the needs enhanced so did the structures. Architecture has always been correlated to our society. The needs of the society and their attention to the culture are reflected in the architecture. The ancient architecture had a character, varying from place to place every few miles depending upon the topography, geography, climatic conditions, etc. The most commonly practiced style of architecture today, however, lacks this native character. Now, this was 50 years ago, the yesteryear, up to today. Ever wonder what the skyline would look like 50-100 years from now?
A Peek Into Posterity…
Would it look like one of the sci-fi movies? The huge skyscrapers overpowering the tiny houses which almost seem as scarce as extinct? Or would it appear to be bringing back the native character from the past? We can all agree that change is inevitable. The technological advancements evolving at a rapid pace in the construction industry are proof that architecture is going to be a far cry from the twenty-first century. Technologies like VR, BIM, robots, and 3D printers made designing & building easy. We’ve seen architectural advancements such as parametric architecture, immersive architecture, smart cities, vertical cities, and sustainable architecture step up in the past few years. Despite these technologies creating their own architectural style, the pandemic affected architecture espied us all. A lockdown made us realize the importance of open spaces and healthy work environments. Public spaces got a new bylaw of more space for individuals ensuring social distancing. Just like this pandemic, there could be many more pandemics to come in the future that may shape our architectural style. All these factors, technological advancements, energy crisis, climate change, epidemics and pandemics, and our social, ecological, and religious beliefs may indicate a more sustainable style of architecture in the future.
Lickety-Split Through The Morrow
Architecture is growing branches in allied fields and instead of a single-person job, various consultancies come together to handle turnkey projects. Several consultants come together to contribute knowledge of their field of specialization in a single project. Consultants such as structural, landscape, design, energy-efficient green building, urban design, etc. contribute to a project. Given the mercurial climate, the sustainable style of architecture and the energy-efficient building will be widely practiced. That indicates climate-sensitive architecture varying from region to region depending on the local climate will be practiced bringing back the character of the provinces from long ago or similar. The need for energy saving will bring a decline in the import and transport of exotic construction material & engender the use of local materials. The technological advancements may even call forth a new style of architecture where such local materials and climate responsive methods and design will be achieved in high-rise construction too given the rising population and scarcity of land. A new trend in architectural technology came to the limelight, wherein the waste material is recycled to prepare new construction materials. Debris from the demolition of existing structures, plastic waste, non-recyclable and toxic waste as well as biodegradable waste or compost can all be developed as a construction material. These trends may emerge to a new style of architecture.
The built environments change to fit the needs of the users. There are many theories proving that architecture around us has an effect on the users both physically and psychologically. These effects may not be immediate but could be observed over the course of time. The hippocampal region of our brain responds to the spatial arrangement in the enclosure. Lifestyle stress has a gradually rising curve. This may result in a need for lively and green spaces. This pandemic has already emerged a rise in the need for green open and semi-open spaces and a working arena at the residence. The total environment at Bangalore and Pune are designing townships with these requirements. The more emphasis on the landscape is a character of their architectural style. Their perspective of design seems to be a pastiche from the future.
An alternative future architecture would seem like one right out of a movie like NextGen or inception. An environment with skyscrapers reaching extraordinary heights. Microclimates will be artificially achieved by coping with these new surroundings. Flying cars may not be achieved but highways as high as those skyscrapers may be. We may be lucky enough to escapade structures taller than Burj Khalifa with various structural systems not known to the construction textbooks yet. The heritage might not survive this test of time, but there sure will be a heritage in the making. The nature we know and love today may leave no remains, but new sciences will bring about the lush merging boundaries between the built and open spaces. However, with the pace at which our technology is advancing, we can be assured that this future we fantasize about is not very far away.
