digital aptitudes - Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012 - 4:00PM - 5:30PM
1912: Progress, Technology, and Nature
Fran Leadon, City College of New York
Utopias/Dystopias: From the Progressive Era to a
Sustainable Future
Marie-Alice L’Heureux, University of Kansas
This paper characterizes the decades of the progressive era (1890-
1920), their challenges, optimisms, and investments in infrastructure.
From a succinct discussion of utopian and dystopian novels
and their relevance to late 19th century cities, I then explore their
relevance to the early progressive era from the 1893 Columbian
exposition in Chicago to the 1901 Pan-American exposition in Buffalo,
New York. I characterize the challenges for architects in this
era when the focus was on urban-scaled engineering projects and
architects were engaged in the expressive aspects of the urban environment
that underscored their limitations in the rapidly changing
technological realm. At the turn of the 21st century, architects
again find themselves as a similar junction. Urbanized countries
consume more energy and produce more greenhouse gases than
un-urbanized ones, but within urbanized countries, dense urban
centers consume as much as 30% less energy than the suburbs or
rural areas. Cities are struggling to invest wisely in their urban infrastructure
and are trying to re-create themselves as denser, more
efficient centers of innovation and creativity. To engage in this discussion,
architects and planners need to understand the deep historic
roots associated with these challenges and to prioritize the
intersection of the human aspects of design with the more familiar
aesthetic and technological issues of design.
From Orthographic to Eccentric: Tall Architecture of
Extremes
Terri Boake, University of Waterloo
Height has long served as a benchmark for progress as it relates to
the built manifestation of advancements in engineering and architectural
technology. The past 100 years are marked by major advances
in the construction of tall buildings. This paper will look at
the architectural ramifications of changes in the structural form of
tall buildings. Building references will span early framing systems
such as those used in the Woolworth Building to more eccentric
diagrid systems. The impact of the destruction of the World Trade
Towers will be examined for its impact on current practices in the
design of SuperTall buildings. The material nature of the structural
system, the emergence of wind engineering and questions of redundancy
in design will also be included.
The On-Again Off-Again Romance Between Nature
and Technology in Healthcare Settings
Mardelle Shepley, Texas A&M University
The purpose of this paper is to describe the relative influence and
dominance of technology and nature in the development of healthcare
facilities in recent history. The history of healthcare design
over the last 100 years can be segmented into four eras that are
characterized by different attitudes towards technology and nature:
the progressive era, the modernist era, the era of scientific
humanism, and the era of evidence-based design. The Progressive
era began in the mid-1850s and is associated with the Nightingale
prototype. Among the design objectives of the period were the
pervasiveness of natural light and ventilation. Hospitals of the Modernist
era were often rendered in the International Style. These
hospitals evolved into large, block buildings with minimal daylight
in the central areas due to the deep floor plate. The era of Scientific
Humanism was a reaction to the technological emphasis of the previous
epoch. Designers during this period attempted to produce
environments that were softer, and more residential in character.
Our current hospital epoch, the Evidence-based Design era, uses
science to inform the architecture of healing environments and describe
the impact of nature. Although many hospitals in the United
States still reflect the modernist vernacular of deep floor plates
and long, double-loaded corridors, most new hospitals have been
significantly influenced by Evidence-based Design.
If nature and technology are the primary predictors of the future of
health care design, their on-again, off-again relationship in healthcare
settings may be self-resolving. Our simultaneous desire for
the most advanced technology and the most untainted nature are
intensifying. This approach is currently expressed in the form of
technological sustainability and biophilic healing, concepts that
will likely be the hallmark of healthcare design in developed countries
for the next half century.
Evaluating Progressivism: A Critique of Biomimetic
Architecture
Wynn Buzzell, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
The following discourse considers biomimicry as a progressive
trend, and aims to examine its validity and relevance, particularly
as it relates to architecture. Establishment of validity is accomplished
through examination of its historical context, definition of
its typologies and methodologies, taxonomic categorization of its
terminology, a discussion of its contemporary portrayal, and provision
of a series of illustrative examples to augment the observations
offered. These observations, characterizations, and conclusions,
will be discussed through conceptual consideration of how
“second nature” and humanities innate biophilic tendencies have
given rise to biomimetic architectural methodologies. Particular
attention is given to the concept of “second nature” and related
ideas which deal with mankind’s perception of its connectedness
to nature. This connectedness is discussed as it relates to the ways
humankind imitates nature. Conclusions aim to define and clarify
the semantics, typologies and methodologies of biomimicry.
Digital Apptitutes + Other Openings - Boston, MA - 11