Greening The Urban Architectural Evolution Within A Shifting Paradigm of Context through Disruption:

Abstract

It is precisely true that urban space and boundaries are changing. This change is taking place with the very context of architecture and urban evolution. Human beings are now bounded within the complexity of context and this context is undergoing a monumental paradigm shift. For what is now known as spatial context is being changed and spatial boundaries are manifesting itself in fluid momentum. Technological innovation is changing centuries of perceived context in urbanism. This doesn’t only come within the digitalization of space, but within the very context of the present urbanized innovation, and the architectural built environment context will have to adapt to meet the needs of this rapidly evolving mode of development. The internet of things is not something just talked about, it is present everywhere, smart homes, smart cites, smart mobility, smart technology, smart data and smart architecture. A closed door doesn’t exist in spatial terms for technological evolution, only through barricades, encrypted passwords and security protocols. The urban scape is changing at rapid speed. There are economic, political, and ecological implications of technological “progress” and finding ways to contain disruption, by devising technological and architectural innovations within the present context is the next generation of challenge for architecture, engineering, construction and built environment professionals.

Introduction

Change is constant. There is a notion that exists in the Artifical Intelligence (AI) age, that technology is the answer. During the first NASA space mission trials, human computers, people who solved computation theories were used, however as time lapsed, and computers became popular, human beings were quickly replaced by machines which were faster at processing the information than the people themselves. Technologies can be the answer in a number of ways and there can be many questions that require an Artifical Intelligence (AI) solution. Apple and many other IT giants are constantly changing their interface. Today designers can sketch ideas on their tablets, without the need for paper, What is the question?[1Functionality, form, adaptability, time, etc and the list goes on. In this digital era with tech giants[2] such as, Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon being able to track our needs so easily, our private and public space is becoming more increasingly integrated into the system.[3] For centuries people have being paying big money to have their needs met and they have patiently waited over a set time frame to have this done. AI is promising without the wait time and very able to respond immediately.

Human beings now dominate two spaces, land space and digital space. Profoundly, the concept of cyberspace being a Utopia[4] with in itself is questioned and the necessity to separate human being from the AI arena is also important. Digital currency has is benefits and speeding up transactions will be useful, although important to note, will there be a human side, should anything devastating occur? How about plugging in and plugging off? So now literally the built environment includes the occupied virtual space. Google co-founder Larry Page shared, “A combination of digital technologies, ubiquitous connectivity, social networks, sensing, machine learning and artificial intelligence, and new design and fabrication technologies — would help bring about a revolution in urban life.” The upcoming urban revolution as discussed in the brief will have the human being in the center of the paradigm shift, only this doesn’t seem likely. Human conveniences may be measured and accounted for, and this paper will largely explore why a paradigm shift will largely involve a shifting on context.

Reviewing The Urban Evolution Through Technology

The digital dimension is a vast resource; that which is lived in, accessed and controlled within limits. Designing for the digital innovation within the urban realm is becoming increasing popular and cities and governments are looking for ways to become increasingly smart. These cities are looking to technological innovations to decrease wait times, commute times, speed transactions and connect people, etc

Dotoroff (2016) explored through Sidewalk Labs what it would be like to build a city from the internet up, create a place where ubiquitous connectivity is truly built into the foundation of the city, so that people utilize data to enhance quality of life. [5] They explored innovation across mobility, infrastructure, the built environment, governance, social policy and focused on fundamental problems that were initially over looked by the tech world. They found that the future of cities lie in the way these potential solutions fit together. It was noted that technology has failed to solve many real-world urban challenges, while policy failed to profit from the impending benefits of digital innovation. They also argued that there isn’t a single city today that can stand as a model for our urban future.

Sidewalk Labs did a feasibility model on the impact of an urban community using urban innovations to devise a smart city within a large-scale district in real-world conditions. They found that a 14% decrease in the cost of living would be achieved with, effective mobility, increase walkability, increased connectivity, reduced commute times, reduced green house gas emissions by 2/3 and accessibility to health care innovations. Hence, this fuelled their above conclusion, that currently there doesn’t exist a city in the world that can serve as an ideal model and that there was still much studies to do in the built environment to develop such a scenario.

Saunders’ (2017) recently stated that urbanism and technology are benefiting from a working together, as this modern collaboration was lacking during the industrial revolution. Fast forwarding decades later, this century is in the midst of urban technological revolution.[6] Production and delivery of good was dictated by large factories and manufacturing companies along with the distribution of new technologies to deliver goods, now, this will be a wild card for the built environment.

The following premises noted by Saunders’ such as; that all cities have already gain momentum in levels of success; and efficiency can to ensure more success, is still left to addressed, in the name of progress. In light of these two premises, it is important to add that there is still much to be done in terms of technological progress with regards to urbanism and as these cities will be preparing for the new wave of evolution in the coming decades. Also, efficiency with regards to certain standards maybe important, however it isn’t the only answer, having a good solid structure and sound policies can ensure effectiveness of these cities.

Vertical space is urbanism is changing with the advent of new technology. This vertical urbanism is undergoing research. As vertical expansion of public space is a strategic consideration for governance, more research is being done on privacy, safety and security. Rahman (2017) pointed out that vertical urbanism could redevelop the operating environment and scope by public policies with regards to space, as this space would then become vulnerable to external threats. Complications may arise in terms of governance, policy protocols, crime, security and emergency response efforts.[7]

The following recommendations were made by Rahman (2017), navigation of public and privately owned airspace, monitor and enforce drone traffic. Develop aerial and high rise vantage points to ensure security and safety of vertical space. Effective vertical policing and securing the vertical space of future cities would essentially entail or adopt traditional strategies such as, patrols and neighbourhood watch. Other modes of security recommended by Rahman include strategies for intelligence, operational functionality and community vigilance.

Consequently, regardless of vertical scape and technological advancement, Castello (2016)[8] argued that any place is a qualified space, or rather a space that comes to be perceived by population through the impetus of human experiences based on the apprehension of environmental stimuli. Vertical and Horizontal space with the advent and evolution of technology will change, therefore, safety and security measure will only be one aspect of policy changes. Air, land and water will be measured and transportation and logistics will evolve to more sophisticated modes to accommodate this change.

The technological evolution is changing the nature of the built environment. Cities and their spaces are now consisting of intrinsically, interdisciplinary, global conditions and the biggest question posed by Crysler (2003) is; how theory can reflect critically on the activities of the built environment profession?[9] The built environment is evolving especially in technological advanced countries with rapid speed and responding to that change is the biggest challenged faced by built environment professionals. Data is being process faster than the speed of light, every person in this day and age is on an information superhighway and processing the data has become eminent. It has to be processed and successfully acted upon. Human beings are evolving along with technology and context, creating new business models, new pathways for innovation and new means of connectivity for private and public sectors.

Along with this disruption, transformative business models, networks driven by technology and business innovation are intricately involved in the new age of urbanism. According to Dixon, Connaughton & Green (2018), making sense of the future can be difficult even resulting in wildcard of blackswan events. The context of the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) environment and the relationship between the economic, social, environmental and the digital is changing due to the fundamental shift away from artificial intelligence. This shift is present by means of generating data controlled by international restrictions and through opportunities that these technologies allow between the social and the digital world.[10]

Incidentally Wolf (2009) while teaching a computer to read the internet, lamented on a very intriguing proposition suggesting that through the evolution of technology, it maybe be possible to devise a superior computational model to allow for an emerging narrative framework underlying internet conversations that can possibly influence the decision making of many people throughout the country or possibly world.[11] As a result, this will enable people worldwide to support noteworthy causes when used in the hands of good. Again, secured safety and security protocols can ensure the type of information and message that is being sent across. Urban technological evolution can have numerous benefits. It can evolve to be a superior system for organizing and containing the context of cities. Across cities worldwide, technological innovations will enhance and support an intelligent built environment to sustain all people.

A Shifting Of Context In The Built Environment

Now, the concept of a “Smart” city is driving government agenda for most major cities striving for a better future. Among the key themes of this change is the influx of new technological innovations that are influencing the perceived context of future cities. Smart cities will use data collected through censors and digital track records to supply information, allocate resources, manages assets and liabilities accordingly. New methods and processes are being developed to connect citizens by way of technology to the city. This intelligent data will then apply to the different ways city systems and infrastructure are being conceptualized and operated for future success.

From transporting people and goods through horse carts and buggies, then by cars, planes, helicopters and air transport drones. The urban scape is changing at a rapid rate, with movement occurring ever so quickly. Infrastructure provisions are becoming more sophisticated and digitalized. It is important to monitor this shifting of context, to generate better operative patterns. This will include monitoring of daily digital, social, economic and human behavioural tracks.

The internet of things is now a big operative system for cities of the future. Information and communication technology will ensure effectiveness in cities. Technology will now ensure better transactions, operations and efficiency. This will evolve to meet the consumption and needs of the governments and citizens. There are many who predict the age of thinking machines will take over human beings. When the movie “Terminator” came out people were entertained by the concept of technology possibly taking over the world. Many speculate that computer will take over the work of human being as mentioned in the introduction; Nasa’s human computers were substituted by an actual computers which could process information more faster than human beings. 3D priniting technology has now taken over the work of construction labourers, enabling these machines to do certain tasks faster than human beings, constructing materials by using less time and less labour. The urban evolution is alarming. Some say technology is evolving for the better of human life. Heath care technology is evolving to increase human life expectancy. This artificial intelligence wave is taking over cities and it leaves one to question, who is in control. It still remains unclear in this shifting context of urbanism on whether technology or human beings is currently in power.

The locus of power is of ever increasing concern, between humans and technology. At present human beings are becoming highly dependent on technology. Also, if context is being altered during this technological evolution, social changes will occur. Moreover, it is unclear whether this will widen the gap between the ecological outcomes and various social classes. Again it remains unclear whether technology will be a privilege or a right.

Perhaps one way to look this scenario is through the premise that human beings and technologies are becoming inter-dependent, one cannot function without the other. In fact, cities are built for human beings. Human beings once entering these cities will then become part of the context. If technology is altering the defined context, then human beings will become a part of process.

Conclusion

To conclude, contextually, there will be a shift in paradigm where cities are concerned with the evolution of technology. Urbanism won’t remain the same and architecture will adapt to consider the digital footprint of cities in the initial process of design. Constructing a blueprint for the digital footprint will become part of the business to account solely for this context. Architects, engineers, construction and built environment professionals now have a new challenge to define and contain the new context.

Progress will involve building a city encompassing the usage of technological innovations in the form of mobility, infrastructure, the built environment, governance and social policy. This will be guaranteed by devising a new context which will solve the fundamental problems that were initially over looked by the tech world while including the human equation. Humans must become a key central component of the built environment. A number of indicators will then be tried, tested and included in the development of city’s built environment to ensure success.

As discussed earlier, it remains unclear who will be in power with regards to this urban technological evolution. “Terminator” was just a movie. Furthermore human beings must remain vigilant with their digital footprint. Even if architecture and the built environment adapts to this change in context, it still remain unclear whether environmental and social gaps will exist. Power is a strong word when it comes to the built environment. There is still much more work to be done. Only once this context is defined and the smart city comes into being, then effective policies will guarantee the success of social, economic, political, and ecological implications of technological progress as it relates to architecture, design, and urbanism.

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Footnotes

[1] Site Magazine, Online, 2018. VOLUME 39: FOUNDATIONS & DISRUPTIONS,

(Accessed March 28, 2018)

[2] Nicholas Negroponte, Being Digital (New York: Alfred A Knopf,1995), 165.

[3] (Carlo Ratti and Matthew Claudel, City of Tomorrow, (New Haven: Yale University

Press, 2016), 16.

[4] Chistoph Thun-Hohenstein, Sense and Sensibility in the Digital Age, (Vienna

Biennale 2017 Catalogue).

[5] Doctoroff, Daniel L. Online, 2016. Reimagining cities from the internet up, (Accessed April 3, 2018) https://medium.com/sidewalk-talk/reimagining-cities-from-the-internet-up-5923d6be63ba

[6] Saunders, Pete. Online, 2017. “Urbanism And Technology -Uniting To Push Cities To The Next Level” Forbes.com. (Accessed March 28, 2018 https://www.forbes.com/sites/petesaunders1/2017/06/15/urbanism-and-technology-uniting-to-push-cities-to-the-next-level/#2ae190e56cc4

[7] Rahman, Muhammad Faizal Abdul. Online (2017). “Securing the Vertical Space of Cities” NTU Library (Accessed on 29th March 2018 https://dr.ntu.edu.sg/handle/10220/42120 2017-02-22

[8] Castello, Lineu. (2010) “Rethinking the meaning of place: conceiving place in architecture-urbanism” Rouledge Taylor and Francis Group. London and New York. 2010. (Accessed on 29 March 2018) https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=SwTPCwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=architecture+urbanism+and+technology&ots=9__pDlJ80n&sig=DLaEVUcz7xqKq1FjG6TZn09qm6Q#v=onepage&q=architecture%20urbanism%20and%20technology&f=false

[9] Crysler, CGrieg .2003. “Writing spaces: discourses of architecture, urbanism and the built environment, 1960–2000” Rouledge Taylor and Francis Group. New York. (Accessed on March 30th 2018) https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=CaDAgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=architecture+urbanism+and+technology&ots=54N-

[10]Dixon, Tim, Connaughton, John, Green, Stuart. 2018 “ Understanding and Shaping Sustainable Futures in the Built Environment to 2050 “ Sustainable Future in the Built Environment to 2050: A foresight Approach to Construction and Development, John Wiley and Sons, Oxford U.K. 2018 (Accessed on March 30th 2018) https://books.google.co.in/bookshl=en&lr=&id=wEhGDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA339&dq=architecture,+bitcoin+and+the+built+environment&ots

[11] Wolf, Jessica. “UCLA researchers teach computer to read the internet.” (2009) Accessed on (March 30, 2009) http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/ucla-researchers-teach-computer-to-read-the-interne