Emerging Trends That Will Shape The Future Of Architecture

The big question that a lot of people are asking today is: What will architecture be like in the future? The fact is that in the past two years, there have been huge changes in terms of architectural design and construction. These waves of trends are so big and powerful that they have been changing the way that we look at traditional spaces. They have been affecting both office spaces and residential areas.

There has been a huge shift toward open-space designs, obscuring the line between where private space ends and public space begins. “Going green” has become a big thing, and many homes are now built with the idea to be as environmentally friendly as possible. The idea has gone so far that some are already dreaming of net-zero homes that don’t consume any energy at all. Building designs have also become collaborative projects, due to the fact that other experts next to architects themselves now take part in the process.

In this article, we are going to discuss some of these emerging trends that will shape the future of architecture.

Smart cities based on big data

Big data is a concept that is still being researched, but that doesn’t mean that it hasn’t already found its use in many applications. It has already shown how incredibly useful it is in terms of human analysis, so it is no wonder that it is the basis for the concept of planning and building smart cities.

The idea of smart cities is based on using the Internet of Things (IoT) sensors in order to gain as much data as possible. This data can be used for more efficient use of resources, significantly decreased energy consumption, and implementing modern technologies and methods in order to not only provide everyone with an affordable, satisfying, and secure places to live in, but also to create an interconnection between various cities themselves.

Big data provides us with all the necessary information about how the infrastructure works, how people move throughout cities, how much energy is consumed in various scenarios, and so on. With such knowledge, buildings and entire cities can be built a lot more efficiently.

Collaborative design

As we have already mentioned, collaboration is becoming a huge thing in terms of architectural design. What this means is that architecture as we have known it thus far is most probably going to vanish. Instead, architects will have different roles because they will collaborate on their designs with other experts, such as environmental scientists, social anthropologists, and so on. In order to achieve goals such as the aforementioned smart cities, professionals from different fields will be needed for future architectural projects to be possible.

What this also means is that a variety of job profiles that the construction industry has at the moment are likely to be replaced. Some say that this kind of approach to architecture is no longer a matter of indulgence, but a requirement that has to be met in order to enable experts to design and build complex structures of the future.

BIM

The Building Information Model (BIM) is not a new idea at all. However, it has resurfaced as a big trend among the architects lately. The way that BIM works is that a project is first designed as a 3D model that is modifiable. According to experts from Cadgroup, it can be done in the old but ever-evolving AutoCAD.

The model consists of surfaces which are volumetric and there is metadata linked to it. This metadata contains information such as materials, measurements, and so on. A multi-client database can store the model in the cloud so that everyone who is related to the project in any way can view it. However, permissions can be clearly determined according to every project member’s role in the project.

At the moment, architects are generally not particularly trained to use BIM. It is an emerging trend, but its future still needs to be saved by making as many learning resources available as possible. It is also important to get familiar enough with the software so that standards can be determined much more easily.

Vertical design

Another big prediction is that the trend of building cities upward instead of outward is going to be the answer to the ever-growing population of our planet. The land is becoming more and scarcer, so building up seems to really make sense.

The solution of vertical agriculture would make growing crops much friendlier to its surroundings. Vertical farming is already an existing and popular approach, so the step toward high-rise residences and cities seems logical. A lot more space would be saved so that the infrastructure can be able to deal not only with residential and commercial spaces, but also a lot more hospitals, schools, and roads.

We can already see an example of such design in Ole Scheeren’s “vertical village”, located in Singapore.

In Summation

If there is something that is certain about the future of architecture, it is that it will be a lot more sustainable, practical, intuitive, and organic. Big data already exists as an incredibly powerful source of information, and only time will tell how far the world will go with using it to improve a multitude of industries.

Eventually, things will go so far that the job and role of an architect as we know is going to significantly change. It is already leaning toward becoming a collaborative work of a variety of experts from different areas.

So, the one thing that is definitely certain is that the future of architecture can and most probably will be vastly different and huge, comparable to what used to be mere science fiction in the (not-so-distant) past.