The future of architecture must be seen as an evolution of the existing technologies so that they may aid in a betterment in our culture and way of living. In this article, the author begins by defining the difference between technology, technique and technical. He says "A technology can be defined as the application of a purely technical or scientific advance to a cultural context" (p 11). A technical refinement on the other hand is a betterment of that technology, for example a faster modem. Technology may be measured qualitatively while technical efficiency may be measured quantitatively, The users of technologies develop techniques, or ways in which the technology may be used to its fullest. Techniques evolve as new ones are discovered and as technical refinements are developed. All this is a feedback loop, the author says, and all three things are intertwined and depend on each other for the creation of better methods for a better design.
Rahim presents the works of Charles and Ray Eames as an example of the feedback loop that he discusses. The Eames began integrating technologies of World War II into their designs. They took innovations in areas of boat design, airplane design, and car design, among others. They were able to develop a machine that would be able to produce plywood by using technology that could glue very thin pieces of wood together tightly. They were able to develop curving chairs made out of plywood. They also took metal welding technologies from car producers to create seamless welds in metal parts. The Eames also worked with Zenith plastics to produce fiberglass chairs in large quantities and at very low prices. Their visionary ways provided a new way of thinking for their era and led them to be known as the ones that "changed the way the twentieth century sat down" (p 7). Rahim also mentions Verner Panton as another visionary of the time. He took advantage of the accidental discovery of a new plastic called high-density polyethylene, or Marlex. By exploring the possibilities that the plastic could offer, Panton was able to create a chair that was monolithic, by only using one piece of plastic.
Similarly today, many firms are exploring the possibilities of reaching out and integrating technologies from other practices in order to better their own. Frank Ghery has even opened up his own company that works toward the evolution of design software. It is interesting that Ghery is not only working toward better technologies, but also for ways in which to make the software available for everybody. This is an important goal if we would really like to see the effects of a new architecture in our future.
The author also discusses theories of temporality and time. He discusses how the design process can be approached in different ways, not only in the classical linear, top-bottom technique. A designer can also begin in the bottom, by designing the specifics of a program first, and they combining them to create the whole idea. The author gives the example of Greg Lynn FORM who designed the Hydrogen House by first designing the specific requirements such as generating energy from the site. He later tied all these elements together to create the final product. Spuybroek also used a similar technique with an advanced technique developed by himself in a computer program. In designing 1050 Prefabricated Houses, he was able to address the larger problem of where the houses would be located to how different uses of a house could be integrated into the house itself. All these different methods of design and production are the future of architecture and must be pursued and practiced by architects everywhere. Now that technology is becoming cheaper and more readily available, these techniques will become more common, and the technical advances will also be more numerous. This will lead to a more affordable and practical architecture.
