You enter a store. It is probably not on your mind that its design layout was put together to optimize purchases made by you. You shop, you browse and; hopefully, you buy. Yet still, stores are doing whatever they can to market for what they call “the moment of truth” – that moment you decide to reach for your item. As a designer, does the collection of these moments ultimately yield the success of your design?

In the Economist magazine, an article entitled ...

The Urban Fabric as an Interconnected Map

Today, many view buildings as stand-alone entities which exist separate from one another. Yet, the interconnections between such buildings are many. As building occupants travel between built environments during a typical day, they transition from space to space – and one building often picks up where the other left off. For example, one may leave their office building, go to the grocery store, and then travel home. Within a short time period, a...

The Consequences of Architectural Technology

When designing, technology can do a lot to either enhance or detract from a project. And the way you guide technology integration into your environment is what makes all the difference. For every design decision you make, there is an ultimate consequence that your occupant will experience. And the interaction between those decisions, yield entirely new consequential experiences.

For example, the lighting glare coming in from a window could disrupt...

The Challenge of Designing with Technology

As a designer, the way you think about the materials and technologies that go into your environment makes all the difference. In fact, the way that you integrate these will either help or hinder the occupants your architecture strives to serve. After all, the way you select and apply such materials and technologies will determine the effectiveness of your design. This is why it is critical for you as a designer to understand what separates...

Experiencing Technology within Environments

Have you ever experienced a building that was painful? This is a building that may have been designed well in some ways, but it lacked the proper integration of architectural technology. You see, when technology is tacked on within an environment as an afterthought, the space will likely suffer in its ability to provide an experience that empowers occupants – from a multi-sensory design perspective.

Much work goes into an architectural design,...

Experience Multi-Sensory Environments Before They Are Built

Can you imagine creating an architectural model in one-to-one scale and in real-time? What would that do for your design process? And for the way you innovate architectural experience? Well, Google is unveiling a virtual reality paintbrush which allows one to create three-dimensional design forms to human scale. By wearing a headset and waving a hand-held paint-brush tool, a designer can create a virtual world limited only by their...

Unlocking 4D Printing Technology Techniques

An exciting new development is underway by a team of scientists at Harvard University. By using 4D printing technology, they are now able to create forms that shapeshift once immersed in water. This is an interesting technique that has far-reaching applications — particularly for the discipline of architectural design thinking.

This newly realized 4D printing technique works by using a “hydrogel composite ink” that behaves like...

The Evolution of Technology

In the past, architectural technology design has served to improve the standard of living. From better lighting and air quality to innovative tools that free up occupant time, technology has been evolving to help alleviate occupant repetitive tasks, and other painful environmental aspects. But what if technology could do more? What if it could actually help to not only remove the unwanted aspects of daily life, but could bring much benefit to the way people live...

So often, new technology is described as a great “divider” that separates people from each other, and even from their own healthy activities. For instance, children today are said to spend too much time with technology, and not enough time running, playing, and using their creativity or imaginations. But is it all technology’s fault? Does it truly divide us from what we should cherish most?

In an age where communication occurs in real-time, architectural technology design is...

INTRODUCTION – ADAPTIVE URBAN ARCHITECTURE

Urban design within cities around the world has impact upon the citizens they serve. As environmental designers, it is important to continuously evolve how cities beneficially influence citizens as they live their daily lives within these urban areas. A critical way by which to accomplish this is to design urban architecture within such cities so they cooperate and collaborate together to yield a relationship of co-creation with their...