Technology's Influence On Architecture

“Technology’s influence on Architecture”

Simply by looking around us in the 21st Century, it is clear that technology plays a vital role in the way architecture is designed, created and represented. Some say technology frames our architectural design and others say that technology is merely a product of architecture itself. The point of this investigation for me is that technology has its role along side architecture and as many influential figures agree, neither of these aspects should be neglected and neither should be overlooked because they both hold their merits. Technology in the modern age can really influence how we see, enjoy or design a building through the use of many different technological medias from QR codes to autocad. Technology

This is where technology has its advantage on architecture. This concept would never have been possible without the emerging cranes which really resulted from The Industrial Revolution between 1820 and 1840. The technology of construction would have help make this scheme possible. This type of construction technology proved revolutionary with regards to architectural development as larger, taller and slimmer architecture could be formed. This is a prime example of where the use of technology alongside architecture has fruitful and beneficial results leading to exciting new developments or possible developments. Even though “The Contemporary City” wasn’t constructed, these skyscrapers couldn’t possible have been constructed without the use of technology and that is a feat in itself, despite the scheme becoming very much technoligically orientated. Technology lies not only in the digital or computing format, it lies in the physical construction of large structures and without it this style of architecture could not exist. “Technology is a gift of God. After the gift of life, it is perhaps the greatest of God’s gifts. It is the mother of civilizations, of arts and of sciences”. This quote, by theoretical physicist and mathematician Freeman John Dyson on the the topic of technology

It would nearly make sense that a technologically designed city would be technologically orientated with regards to its transport, business’s etc. A good example of a technologically planned city would be Masdar City in the United Arab Emirates, which began construction planning and construction in 2006. This city is totally designed with technology as its driving aspect. In comparison to Le Corbusier’s Contemporary City, it is hard to know whether this will be successful or not because its construction and habitation isn’t completed to date but it is yet another example of technology becoming such a prime feature in a city’s design and overall goal. Clearly in the age of technology and science that we are in today, cities, buildings, houses and much more are all designed and orientated in a way that promotes and encourages technology. This can be seen as both a good and a bad thing. A city that is so obsessed and created around technology has the potential to be a complete failure because there is such a big chance that the real idea and structure of a well working city will get lost within a cloud of technology. Its core is a planned city, which is being built by Masdar which is a subsidiary of Mubadala Development Company, with the majority of the money or capital provided by the Government of Abu Dhabi. Designed by the British