The Future of Architecture: Datatecture & Observation Satellites
A new book on the history of architecture in Australia looks at how technological advances may benefit the planet
In this edited chapter ‘Forecasting Futures’ from a new book Australian Architecture: A History, author Davina Jackson takes a look at how technology can improve architectural practices for the good of the Earth.
We have accompanied this book extract with beautiful images from Houzz’s photo archive.
We have accompanied this book extract with beautiful images from Houzz’s photo archive.
One umbrella response, led by United Nations’ science agencies, is an intergovernmental project named the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). This is intended to massively upgrade today’s satellite weather maps (and the visions of Richard Buckminster Fuller, Al Gore and the founders of Google Earth) to integrate many emerging global systems of sensor-monitoring environmental activities – from aeroplane flights to forest fires, and air pollution to sea-surface temperatures.
A vastly informative, multi-layered video atlas, always accessible online, is the cartographic grail. Aligned to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, the GEOSS project is transforming obsolete practices in urban planning, where professionals seem slow to recognise the value of global environmental data to inform local decision-making. Data-informed planning would require architects to clarify local environmental conditions in much more detail than is feasible now, and before rather than after building designs are assessed by stakeholders.
A vastly informative, multi-layered video atlas, always accessible online, is the cartographic grail. Aligned to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, the GEOSS project is transforming obsolete practices in urban planning, where professionals seem slow to recognise the value of global environmental data to inform local decision-making. Data-informed planning would require architects to clarify local environmental conditions in much more detail than is feasible now, and before rather than after building designs are assessed by stakeholders.
Most architecture studios are proficient in building modelling and visualisation but generally are dependent on surveyors and specialist engineers to collect and crunch quanta. Research-focused and experimental firms already are using drone photography, 3D laser scanning, virtual reality and augmented reality games and apps to survey, design or exhibit their projects.
The oft-absent factor is a serious understanding of how every local building project affects the entire planet. That imperative will be more widely adopted with this century’s accelerating paradigm of datatecture: where information architects harness machines to analyse environmental statistics captured by electromagnetic detectors aboard or networked to satellites.
Browse more beautifully designed exteriors
The oft-absent factor is a serious understanding of how every local building project affects the entire planet. That imperative will be more widely adopted with this century’s accelerating paradigm of datatecture: where information architects harness machines to analyse environmental statistics captured by electromagnetic detectors aboard or networked to satellites.
Browse more beautifully designed exteriors
Sixty thousand years before electronic computers, Australia’s First Nations astronomers looked to the stars and their shifting positions in the night sky, to learn when to hunt, plant and harvest. British scientist William Dawes designed Australia’s first colonial cottage, beside Sydney Cove, as an astronomical observatory under a roof of canvas curtains. Today, Earth observation satellites are the new stars in our solar system and are vital sources of overview information that cannot be obtained on the ground.
Although sunlight is the essence of life on Earth, designers of Australian buildings, such as Francis Grose with his 1790s verandahs, also recognise the requisite of shade.
During this century, the entire electromagnetic spectrum of light and energy will be far better understood as a basic context for tomorrow’s Australian architecture.
During this century, the entire electromagnetic spectrum of light and energy will be far better understood as a basic context for tomorrow’s Australian architecture.
This is an edited extract from Australian Architecture by Davina Jackson (RRP AU$39.99).
Your turn
Are you looking forward to learning more about the impact of architecture on the planet as this technology gains momentum? Tell us in the Comments below. And remember to like this story, save the images and join the renovation conversation.
More
Interested in how some buildings are addressing future weather extremes? Read about 5 Homes in India That Coolly Combat Harsh Climate
Your turn
Are you looking forward to learning more about the impact of architecture on the planet as this technology gains momentum? Tell us in the Comments below. And remember to like this story, save the images and join the renovation conversation.
More
Interested in how some buildings are addressing future weather extremes? Read about 5 Homes in India That Coolly Combat Harsh Climate
In this century, the … challenge is how to manage our planet’s complex environmental systems so that humans can survive what already seems to be an accelerating chain of catastrophic events that some fear may cause the extinction of our species.
Ready to renovate? Find architects near you, browse images of their work and read reviews from previous clients