Individual Project One Statement

For the development of Future Scenarios, thorough analysis was developed into the the global issues which will change the future of humanity and shape the world. Issues such as global warming (resulting in climate change and global flooding), the peak oil crisis, the depletion of non-renewable resources, the sustainability of a failing economy, population growth, and world peace and conflict.

Our Sustainable Future depends upon the appropriate technological advancements which will help humanity and the natural environment to survive these future scenario issues. Renewable fuels, renewable energy, alternative transport, resource locality, and sustainable design methods are a few of the key technological advancements which nations and investors must develop further. Our sustainable future also requires a global change of social thinking. Examples include developing a global alliance, changing culture attitudes and practices, and replacing individual goals with futuristic humanitarian goals.

Our future scenario is based on a world where a peak oil crisis occurred in 2030 and left the world with zero remaining fossil fuels. It is now 2042.. the world is still recovering from the loss of major markets and transport systems. Nonetheless it is a time of opportunity for a fresh start, instead of the disaster it once was. Humanity's communities are now closer than ever before, as they depend upon one another to survive and produce items which humans need, instead of what humans want. A concept for the future of People and Lifestyles includes the ideology of 'virtual self's. Hologram shadows which explain an individual deeper than their exterior, allowing humans to connect more deeply and understand someone at first glance better than we once did in 2012. It is the positive connectivity of humans through a  global and community engaged alliance which will save the future of the Earth and humanity.

Our future Architectural Opportunity incorporates much more than just communal spaces with the addition of virtual selves.  The concept of Cluster Cities allocates production, communication, education, politics and futuristic virtual retail into centralized nodes. As explained within my previous blog, cluster cities allow for efficient public transport, locality of resources, expansion for the natural environment and renewable energy systems, the establishment of vertical cities, and ofcourse centralized communal spaces for the community to engage within.

Concept of Cluster/Compact Cities (with Urban and Locality reading)

Urban Form and Locality Reading

Quotes taken for the concept of 'Cluster Cities'

'Generic City' (taken from Evolo Skyscrapers book): Concept of Cluster City

"Since the Earth Summit in Rio  questions about sustainable spatial strategies and urban form  have  become increasingly central to planning policy debates. They also  loom large  in  academic inquiry.  There has been a  deepening and broadening of work in the field."
It is extremely important for planning debates to be centralised around futuristic sustainable designs.

"There is disagreement  between  researchers  about,  for  example,  the  significance  of density,  the validity of the compact city strategy and the appropriate role for new settlements. At  one  extreme there is  dispersal into hamlets and villages, while at the other extreme is  concentration into dominant cities. In between there  are  'dispersed concentrations.'"
An issue which can only be solved through scientific tests or trial and error..

Compact City chapter:

"Their evidence suggests that concentration leads  to lower fuel  consumption than dispersal, and that the average density of an area (where density is  a proxy for degree of concentration)  is  a  key predictor of energy use - at least as significant  as  social  variables  such  as  income  and  car  ownership."
The ideology that cluster/compact cities will allow for more efficient transport.. which may be a solution to the coming peak oil crisis. However the concept that cluster cities will constrain cities to a certain amount of energy is a little absurd. Technological advancements in several types of renewable energy will allow for an adbundance of energy.

"In other words even the poorest households find  they cannot do without a car in  dispersed areas,  while conversely in accessible  inner urban areas some of the  richest households choose not to own a vehicle"
It is plausible that compact cities will be based upon economic class.. which in turn will establish ghettos. This issue will be looked into more below. Quote ironic that the rich do not need the expenses of a car.. but the poor who cannot afford bare expenses do require car expenses to support themselves. Perhaps the location of the classes supports this: The closer you live to the city, the more your house is worth, and therefore the higher your income is. 

"The compact city is seen as  offering the opportunity for creative and dynamic activity,  the  revival  of a rich and diverse cultural life"
The main aim of the compact city idea is to establish closer community culture.. and allow communities to push towards sustainable awareness and movement. I believe closer constricted communities will easily allow this.

"The  enemies of this source of creativity are,  on the one hand undifferentiated suburban sprawl in quasi-rural settings which isolate the individual;  and highly specialized land use policies within cities which create functional enclaves and social ghettos"
This is the main overall issue of cluster cities.. whilst they allow for sustainable methods and closer communities.. they isolate the economic classes significantly more than they are now!

"He  argues that people have been actively choosing the lifestyle of the lower density suburbs in preference to survival in declining urban cores"
Ofcourse people want to continue into urban sprawl but we need to change this perception.. this would have to be accomplished through cluster cities which allow for sprawl, but still close production of all resources necessary to survive, aswell as a layout which puts people's qualities of life's first.

"Why sbould we green the cities? Because man needs beauty: he needs  nature,  trees,  greenery,  birds,  squirrels,  the  changing seasons,  the connection to the soil. Because we need space for leisure,
to recreate mind and soul,  to run,  play, fish,  cycle,  relax and socialize ..."
Organic cities integrated with the natural environment is a must within the near future!

"In such  a  'thinner, greener'  city,  Colin Ward sees the opportunity for more user or resident control, more individual initiative"
Hopefully certain cluster cities will lead the way for improvements for other cluster cities.
A concept which will allow for global flooding and more natural light into the cluster cities is elevating the cities and allowing for indirect light to reflect up from underneath!

Conclusion chapter:
"At  the start of the chapter four key spatial issues were identified:  dispersal versus concentration, high versus low density, segregated versus integrated land use patterns, and nucleated versus linear form."

"The mixed use centres of such townships should be locally accessible by non-motorized modes but also tied into the rest of the city or urban cluster by high quality public transport to avoid the necessity for car use while retaining city-wide  choice."
Ideally you want to replace the car all together.. through systems of renewable run public transport. Trucks will also be unrequired for delivery as all production for the individual city is within the city.. this minimizes unnecessary transport.

"Higher intensity activities should cluster around public transport routes, with net housing densities sufficient to allow energy,  access and community benefits to be realized."
I agree completely with this statement.

"The linear networks  of water and public transport thus give  the frameworks on which diverse urban land uses are hung. Even where a compact city solution is  appropriate it is  yet important both to maintain/enhance green parkways  and to  maximize  public transport accessibility.  This  may  lead  to
compact linear patterns for any necessary greenfield development rather than simple annular expansion"
It is true that urban sprawl has been based upon the access to water. However if designers solved the issue of efficiently transporting clean fresh water (which could be converted from salt water to fresh water along all of the coast).. this would no longer be an issue. Personally there are more efficient ways of transporting water than pipes running all throughout the city and suburbia.. and this will come with further technological advancements!

"In practice it is liable to require a high degree of technical and political commitment and effective  collaboration between diverse agencies if it  is  to succeed."
The overall issue for future design is that there are a significant amount of concepts.. which allows for more debate on each concept instead of actually implementing one before it is too late. Hopefully by the end of this semester project, one of the most efficient concepts will be established..

Possible solution to issue of isolating classes further:
Allow for 'level's of classes. Poor individuals would start at the bottom.. living amongst a space with less natural light and more servicing, clearly this would not be ideal.. but the ideology behind it is that this pushes individuals to work to the top! Ideally within the core of the cluster city needs to be a pubic space with natural environment and open light for all of the classes to connect.

A configuration for the layout of cluster cities is required.. and will be the next development to my project!

Future Retail Experiences: Virtual Skin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t49JkakYAoE&feature=player_embedded

The Future Shopping Experience: (as a result of technological advancements)

Virtual screens/holigram items:

Will users still crave the experience of the actual 'feel' and 'weight' of an item? Perhaps this can be solved neurologically.

Online shopping:

It is plausible that shopping centers will one day not be required as a result of online shopping and the desired expansion of delivery systems/markets. Personally humans will still require that fulfillment of a shopping experience.. or perhaps this is only a fulfillment requirement of generations existing today. With technological advancements, future generations may not require shopping centers at all. It is my hope that there will still one day be the want for human connection instead of online connection.. therefore creating beautiful organic spaces for social activities!

Virtual Self Concept

In week four of the tutorials.. we were trying to design an Architectural space which allows for more connectivity between individual human beings and allows for a deeper understanding of random individuals around you.

The virtual self concept is our designed answer through means of technological advancement. Imagine a world where there are public spaces where a 'virtual self' follows you.. as if a holographic shadow. This virtual self explains who you are as a person inside.. this allows for people to see the inner you.. instead of the typical judgement of society based upon your exterior. It shows interests, beliefs, future goals, past pictures/videos and has a 'background' which explains YOU.

When an individual walks up to another individual.. in between both individuals pops up a virtual self of similarities which allows for the start of a conversation and a deeper understanding of the people within your community.

It can be implemented into the shopping experience of the future aswell.. imagine a future shopping center is a mass open green space where people go to socialise or relax. Within this space are floating logo holograms of retail stores. As an individual approaches a particular hologram, your virtual self (which knows your size and taste of clothing/items) brings up all of the items from this brand that would be of your interest. Allowing the user to see what is of interest to them personally! This technological advancement saves space for shops and the waste of unnecessary materials/items.

Overall this concept was established to design a space which allowed communities to come together.. the closer the community is, the more future goals are transformed into community or global goals instead of self-centered goals. Global goals clearly include the development of sustainable technology to allow for a continued future of human beings on Earth!

Future People and Lifestyles (Individual Work)

All quotes reflected upon below were taken from the online article 

Characteristics of a future society based on futurist predictions 

(http://vulcanis.wordpress.com/2008/04/07/characteristics-of-a-future-society-based-on-futurist-predictions/)

"A recurring theme and technological prediction of futurists is one in which human intelligence supersedes that of the previous generation through artificial enhancement."
The concept that the needs of current society will one day be fixed through artificial enhancement. Personally this is not the way humanity should go! I believe humans will always create more needs or wants no matter what we have.. because purely we are human. Or there is even the concept that the next generations will realize this and stop wanting unneeded things within their life.. and instead enjoy the gift of life.

"Mr Pelletier outlines a near future (2030s) where a combination of nanotechnology and insight into the inner workings of the human brain facilitate an exponential growth of intelligence."
A plausible future advancement.. but really is it needed? Are we not intelligent enough in comparison to all that exists on Earth. Perhaps there are certain communities and societies who need to catch up.. but at the same time economic statuses help the individual grow their intelligence.. so this contradicts because how will they afford nanotechnology? This technology may only cause a larger gap between the 'intelligent' and the 'norm'.

"By utilising these tiny automatons (nano-technology) to the largest extent possible, it is thought that both disease and aging could be eradicated by the middle of this century. This is due to the utility of nanobots, specifically their ability to carry out pre-programmed tasks in a collective and automated fashion without any conscious awareness on behalf of the host."
An outstanding concept.. but personally No. History has only proved that with the development of medicine, there has been a development in history. And if we do stop aging and disease.. we are only creating a higher population growth! Personally, technology is now at the point where the further development of it will only cause more global issues.

"In essence, nano devices could act as a controllable extension of the human body, giving health professionals the power to monitor and treat throughout the organisms lifespan."
Another great concept but still relates to the issue of population growth. Humans should not play god.. unfortunately it is natural for people to die.. mother nature's way of keeping things in balance.

"This could be one of the first targets for augmentation; increasing the speed of information transfer via programmed algorithms that fuse our natural biological mechanisms of searching with the power of logical, machine-coded functions. Imagine being able to combine the biological capacity to effortlessly scan and recognise facial features with the speed of computerised programming."
Is this a good or a bad thing if our brain is as fast as a computer.. a futuristic computer which is even smarter.. will the mind become more intelligent or will it simply turn humans into functioning robots?

"Undoubtedly there will be certain populations whom refuse for whatever reason, most likely due to a perceived conflict with their belief system. It is important to preserve and respect such individuality, even if it means that these populations will be left behind in terms of intellectual enlightenment."
I strongly agree with this quote.

"I would respond that an increase in intelligence would likewise cause a global rise in morality. While this relationship is entirely speculative, it is plausible to suggest that a person’s level of moral goodness is at least related (if not directly) to their intelligence."
Indeed, intelligence allows humans to develop positive morals towards each other. Allows people to see the bigger picture. But personally this morality already exists.. whilst some people have bad morals due to their life experiences. Perhaps the concept of replacing bad memories for better memories will allow for a more positive future.

"Perhaps we are already in the midst of our future society. Our planet’s declining environment may hasten the development of such augmentation to improve our chances of survival. Whatever the future holds, it is certainly an exciting time in which to live. Hopefully humanity can overcome the challenges of the future in a positive way and without too much disruption to our technological progress."
Honestly, the way humanity is going as a result of technology.. I do not see why technological advancements are required, except for those which allow human life to preserve the planet we live on. But unfortunately money and the market runs the world, and it will be a market decision to continue develop in all fields of technology.. as a result of profit.

Overall moral of the article: Predicting answers for the future only allows for more questions. Only time will tell what the future holds!

Quotes from comments below the article:

"It is evident that for every step forward, there is a concomitant step back some place else, usually unanticipated. [For example] television gives us a “window on the world”, and a means for distorting the facts and manipulating the opinions of millions of people all at once."

I agree with this quote completely.

"Each of us might like being smarter (e.g., an IQ of 150 instead of 120), but the problem is that a world where everyone is 30 IQ points smarter is just as primitive and competitive as the “dumber” world we had before."

Another amazing quote.. increasing intelligence of all humans will simply raise the bar.. or establish an even larger gap between classes and separating connectivity of human beings even more.

"How it ends: the augmented humans decide normal humanity is not worth saving, and go off on their FTL ships to seed the galaxy."

Something humanity would do.. go and destroy another planet.. the modern ideology of replacing something which is broken ie. Earth.

"Before that we lived in small bands and tribes, were in substantial balance with what the environment could provide (for hunters and gatherers), and had essentially zero environmental footprint. There were probably only a few million humans on the whole planet, but the author argued that they were almost certainly happy, because the small tribal social situation was what we had evolved to desire."

I agree that life would have been simpler at some points of time. Life where we raised a family and lived our days providing for one another. Life without the issue of destroying the Earth.. but unfortunately humans need to learn. We crave to develop our individual skills.. so stopping technological advancements is impossible.

Overall, it is clear that future humanity will continue to develop.. and it may be possible that technological advancements in relevant fields to survival, such as sustainable thinking, will be ignored by the market until a major disaster occurs and millions of people die. Nonetheless it is nature's way of cleaning up and starting fresh! Unfortunately I for one do not have faith left in humanity because of this exact reasoning.. every person within the world MUST be aware of the technological advancements we actually require through sustainable thinking!!

Sustainable Future (Individual Work)

Technological advancements and thorough research is necessary for the below issues of the near future, if humanity is to maintain a socially and ecologically sustainable future:

"As we live in a world characterized by industrial progress and development aided by the help of our natural environment, we are also risking depletion of this natural environment and thus of our world as we know it. With a rational balance between protecting our environment and developing human technology, we will live in a world where we can simultaneously progress the capabilities of mankind with the beauty and necessity of our natural environment."

REFERENCE for above quote: Rosenberg, M. (2012). Effect of Global Warming and Future Outlook. Retrieved from http://geography.about.com/od/globalproblemsandissues/a/globalwarming_2.htm, 24th August, 2012.

Diagram created to signify the characteristics of future societies which sustain the world:

Future Visions And Scenarios (Individual Work)

FUTURE ISSUES WHICH WILL SHAPE THE WORLD

Climate Change: Global Flooding

http://www.freakingnews.com/Underwater-City-Pics-4145.asp

By 2050, it is expected that population growth will add an additional 2.3 billion people onto the world’s current population, resulting in a dramatic increase of greenhouse gases. Climate change threatens the well-being of all humans, especially the poor, who contribute the least to this issue. As a result of further greenhouse gases within the Earth’s atmosphere, global warming will continue to rise the Earth’s temperatures. Therefore global warming will result in the melting of the world’s ice caps and cause a global flooding crisis within the near future.

Peak Oil

http://epianalysis.wordpress.com/2011/08/23/peakoil/

The world’s economic status, market and financial growth are significantly dependent upon the resource of crude oil. The world currently consumes 85 million barrels of oil per day, and the demand continues to exponentially grow. Without oil, modern transportational methods for the transport of resources and humans will cease to exist. Without investments into renewable fuels before this ever closing peak oil crisis of the next, a global economic collapse is guaranteed.

Energy Crisis

http://econogirl.wordpress.com/2011/09/26/making-big-polluters-pay/

Investments into alternative energy production from fossil fuels are rapidly accelerating to meet a projected forty percent increase in energy demand by 2035. Without a major breakthrough in renewable energy production and the global decision to move towards more sustainable methods of energy production, the majority of the world will still be dependent upon fossil fuels by 2050.

Economic Meltdown

http://www.habitants.org/news/debate_how_to_burst_the_real-estate_bubble/who_s_behind_the_financial_meltdown

Economies all around the globe have the current concern of significant amounts of financial debt. As a result of the majority of continents in current economic crisis, it is plausible that a great depression is foreseeable within the near future. To resolve this economic crisis, nations around the globe must work together by planning longer term economic goals, preventing greed of global corporations, and setting regulations of all buyers within the global market.

Population Growth: Lack of Resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_growth

‘Today life expectancy at birth is 68 years, which is projected to grow to 81 by 2100; with advances in longevity research, this projection will increase.' (www.millennium-project.org/millennium/Global_Challenges) This statistic proves that our already scarce resources, such as food, clean water and oil, will continue to become scarcer as the non-providing population of the world continues to increase with the enhancement of medicine. Population growth is an issue which humans must negotiate for today.

Peace and Conflict

http://jafrianews.com/2011/01/24/anti-afghan-war-protests-held-in-different-cities-of-germany/

‘Predominantly young and increasingly educated populations are using the Internet to organize around common ideals, independent of conventional institutional controls and regardless of nationality or languages. These new forms of Internet-augmented democracy are beginning to wield unparalleled social power, often bypassing conventional news media.’(www.millennium-project.org/millennium/Global_Challenges) Peace and conflict for humans has been a relevant issue since the time of man, and with advances in global communication, this issue will not be resolved within the near future.

REFERENCE

Rosenberg, M. (2012). Effect of Global Warming and Future Outlook. Retrieved from http://geography.about.com/od/globalproblemsandissues/a/globalwarming_2.htm, 24th August, 2012.

FUTURE SCENARIO (as written by myself)

In 2042, Brisbane along with the rest of Australia and the world, are still recovering from the peak oil crisis of 2030. Early in the 2020s, it became apparent to the global market and investors that oil resources were extremely low and would only be able to accumulate for the world’s population for an additional few years. During the 2020’s, there was a significant boost in renewable energy and fuel research all around the globe. First world governments and investors came together in 2022, as what was known as the most fundamental Kyoto meeting ever, as organised by the UNFCCC. The Kyoto meeting of 2022 was set to establish a plan of action before peak oil and consequently an economic meltdown occurred. Resources were utilised effectively by the first world countries to establish new means of transport, and establish the mass production of renewable fuels, aswell as the engineering and technology to convert all petrol operated engines. By 2028, oil and fuel prices were at a price so high that the public and global corporations invested into renewable fuelled vehicles. On the day of 24^th March, 2030, all oil companies officially declared that the inevitable day of peak oil had struck. A significant amount of nations were not ready for this crisis, aswell as many global corporations who soon ceased to exist. Nonetheless, the majority of first world countries recovered quickly and to this day, technological advancements are still exponentially growing at a high rate.

It is now 2042, the communities of Brisbane, aswell as the world, are all sustainably aware of the impacts of our ever growing population. Global markets still exist, but communities have learnt to source essential resources locally, which in turn established closer and friendlier communities. All produced resources and technology must now meet sustainable regulations, most of the world’s energy is sourced from renewable means, and the world as one are learning to implement additional strategies for the ever increasing global warming. First world countries around the world, are beginning to see the peak oil crisis of the 2020’s as a sustainable opportunity for social change, instead of the economic disaster it once was.

Future Architectural Possibilities (Individual Work)

The Plausible Future Built Environments:

New materials and building methods – including the ability to build parametric design concepts

Creating new Cities from scratch – technology such as cars resulted in random urban sprawl. New cities by today’s urban planning methods are required for more efficient transport methods.

‘Cluster Cities’ – new compacted cities will produce their own resources locally, utilise the methods of a closed-loop system, and will also support other nearby cluster cities.

Green roofs and Rainwater collection/filtration - will save significant amounts of energy/pollution to transport food and water

Eco-Public Transport – future transport will be so efficient that people will stop utilising cars

‘Green buildings’ - Structures automated by computer systems to sustainably manage temperature, humidity, etc (eg. Open entire walls of shutters at correct times)

Sustainably Retrofitting – retrofitting existing structures will become a substantial market within the next 30 years

Renewably Sourced Energy – solar, wind, lightning and hydro (aswell as micro-power generation, which uses piezoelectric pavement to generate energy from footsteps or from road plates that can generate power as vehicles drive over them)

Vertical farms - allow for close proximity of food resources

Future architectural concepts as scanned out of the book Evolo Skyscrapers: 

(as written by Carlo Aiello, Paul Aldridge, Noemie Deville and many more)

Algorithmic Design Methods: algorithmic functions in the future may be utilised to design structures which for example collect the most efficient amount of direct sunlight

Bio-mimicry: mimicking the design of natural elements to produce organically working structures

City Farming: allows for close sources of food resources, aesthetics within concrete jungles, and the filtration of city pollution

Cluster Cities: self-sustaining cities (utilising closed loop systems) are compacted into limited space and produce their own resources. Nodes of cluster cities will support other nearby cities whilst allowing the natural environment to control most of the land available

Eco-skins: skins allow for an efficient control of the temperature and humidity within side a structure. An important factor of future design as climate change continues to occur

Floating Cities: a pausible design concept for a future of global flooding

Fresh Water Collection: structures along the coast which filter the sea water into fresh water

Future Cemeteries: vertical cemeteries save the space/land required for typical cemetries

Green Roofs: a sustainable concept which allows for communal garden spaces above the typical landscape of cities

Interior cities: cities designed within immensely sized structures allowed for more efficient controlled environments

Lighting Energy: the collection of renewable energy such as lightning through structure design

Modular Design: allows for continuous change and adaptability as individuals or society require

Organic Design: future technologies, materials and method of construction may allow for organic designs

Organic Elevators: the concept of elevators which can travel along windy paths

Pollution Filters: structures which as pollution filters within cities full of pollution

Emergency Skyscrapers: the futuristic design of structures which can allow for rapid setups

Underwater Cities: another concept for a time of global flooding

Underground Structures: utilises the energy and warmth of the Earth

Vertical Cities: a concept to battle the issue of urban sprawl

Vertical Farming concept

Water Collection concept

Wind Power concept

Tutorial Two Group Work

REGIONAL

coomamusic.com.au

Self sustaining community = all waste is a resource: closed loop system

NEEDS

Economy, leadership/direction, food/water, waste collection, trades, recreational/green spaces, shelter, authority/laws, education/health, infrastructure (roads etc.), technology/communication, shops/jobs, energy

POSSIBLE FUTURE NEEDS

Population control, society structure, refugee accommodation, protection (from war and diseases)

Requires proper urban-planning for future expansion!

VIRTUAL

intuition-eunetwork.org

"NOT REAL" Conceptual

Movies similiar: Surrogates, Matrix

'Virtual Glasses' - a blank empty room filled with personal virtual possessions (possible to lose the gap between reality and virtual?)

No need to leave home! Safety aspects

Too much reliance on technology? Flaws = viruses

Alternative cities eg. no need for cars/transport (think of implications on future)

URBAN

planetminecraft.com

No cars in city scenario

Big dependency on PUBLIC TRANSPORT and DELIVERY systems

Underground services/transport - no need for road space! Can be used for green spaces ORGANIC/RANDOM CITY, plus recycling of road materials

Recycling of cars not needed into modular building pieces!

ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORT

Helicopters, cycling, walking, trams, trains, walking, FUTURE: jetpacks, tube systems, segways

IMPLICATIONS

Car market/producers will suffer

Less cars are needed: not enough buyers

SUBURBAN

davidreport.com

Futuristic shopping/retail experiences

Holograms/projections

Works through virtual SENSES: Taste, smell, feel etc.

USABILITY - eg. London Apple store (allowing the user to test the product first)

Futurustic selling of FOOD:

Pills? Design your own meal of taste! Even though you simply swallow the same pill everyday you can still buy certain tastes for that pill (eg. steak with tomato sauce) Fulfills the human desire of taste

Possible game of hunting your actual food before you eat

Futurustic selling of TRANSPORTATION:

Future transportation such as pressurized tubes, single person capsules, flying cars (eliminates parking space), electric/solar energy run, hover vehicles, integration of public and private transport!

'An Indeterminate World' Reading

WHAT WE WANT AND WHAT WE NEED KEEPS CHANGING

Within this blog I will be quoting from An Indeterminate World and reflecting upon certain quotes.

"Indeterminacy to the built environment."

It is plausible that designing for the built environment in the future will be undetermined. Future society wants and needs of tomorrow cannot be predicted by designers of today.

"It revealed a world beyond architecture; a sublime world of pure servicing, information, networking, transience." 

When you break architecture down, it is purely just designed for the functions of human needs, such as their servicing, information collecting and networking needs.

"Archigram group imagined a 'scene machine' of its own: a continuous creative recomposition of architecture, a lived and playful process configured by the user." 

Predictions of future technologies include houses compiled of holographic screens. Everything in your home will be a connected screen. Even furniture will be connected as an individual screen. The user will be able to change their occupied architecture as they please. The only issue with replacing walls and roofs with holographic screens is that the user inside is not protected from the elements architecture prevent, including the safety of that individual. Nonetheless this is an outstanding concept for the future of Architecture. Homes where people can change their architecture as they please or as society changes.

we-make-money-not-art.com

"An architecture that expressed its habitant's supposed desire for continuous change - can be much more related to the ambiguity of life."

"Buildings with no capacity to change can only become slums or ancient monuments."

An idea I had, to protect occupants from natural elements whilst living within a 'scene machine', was that entire homes/lots would be surrounded by a three-story high glass exterior (skin). Only occupants can see out whilst pedestrians cannot see within. The glass of this structure would also be photovoltaic for the collecting of solar energy. Within this controlled safe environment, the occupants can design their future home as they please and change it as they need. Streets would be full of reflecting, solar collecting, glass homes.

"The theoretical ambivalence of modernism, its tension between the spontaneous and the contained." 

"By the socially determined program." 

Society clearly defines how an Architect must design. Therefore to work out how future designs may exist, we must predict the future of society.

"The program was just another sort of idealism." 

Perhaps a socially determined program is non existent. Perhaps we live our lives as we please and architecture is already unique for the people who inhabit their own architecture.

"Life is negotiated, not reprogramming." 

Society can not be tamed, therefore designers must adapt to the terms given.

Modernism: modern and current values. This is what design all comes down to, when regarding indeterminate factors.

"In the 1920's, the white austerity of modern architecture promised economy in an age of scarcity." 

War and wealth are two other major influences on the change of architecture over time.

"Expendability offered the only realistic cue for the future of modern architecture, a departure from the 'doing the most with the least' crusade." 

"By 1970, Peter Cook felt that buildings and planning would benefit from an animal integration - connected and jointed like vertebrae, flesh, organs, skin and digestion."

Organic architecture. The concept of organic design has been argued upon for a long time now. The idea of natural, fluent connected parts designed to fit human needs. Becoming one with nature. 

The question is, would it work? "A city is not a tree." Is it possible to have a 'Living City'?

"Both inorganic and organic systems"

Is it possible that these systems of architecture can work together. If so, inorganic systems must be based upon organic systems if to incorporate the natural side of organic systems.

"Architecture, unlike a game of checkers with fixed rules and a fixed number of pieces, and much like a joke, determined by context, is the croquet game in Alice in Wonderland, where the Queen of Hearts (society, technology, economics) keeps changing the rules."

Truly an amazing metaphor. Design has many influences, of which most are indetermined, such as society, technology and economics.

"The defining challenge for Archigram became to break the unwieldy, static support to which architecture, from house to megastructure, was addicted."

Kits-of-parts: parts of a home which are able to be fitted together as one pleases (modular architecture).

eg.

Prefabricated parts much like lego, but including parts like services (toilets, laundry, kitchen), bedrooms, hallways, roofs and so on. Nonetheless this type of style only works in an engineering point of view, not architecturally. Architecture will forever exist.. or will it?

"A house will no longer be this solidly built thing which sets out to defy time and decay... it will become a tool as the motor car is becoming a tool."

The concept of movable architecture. The use stays the same, but the location changes. The idea even that a house can be one day a small item which opens out wherever the user desires it.

A holographic world dot-urbanprojection.com

"The vision of the helicopter with the dome dangling beneath it."

Relates well to the concept of establishing a skin so inside anything is possible (in terms of holographic screen homes). "it still summarises the whole point of minimal effort for maximum effect."

"It is easier to allow for individual felixibility than organisational change."

The concept of reorganizational units is another possibility to futuristic designs within an indeterminate future,

eg. Monsanto House, Disland (1954-1957)

Archigram also covers the fact that imitated consumer products are 'being killed by the markets'. Perhaps people do not want adaptable buildings. Maybe this is a result of the market. It is hard to implement a technology within one profession without it possibly affecting other professions.

All the influences on Architecture come down to the Triple Bottom Line: Society, Economics and Environment.

"Archigram thinks that architects should stop making bigger and better boxes and get down to the real business of architecture today which they think is survival."

Fullerine's theory of Survivalism. If living to survive, only the necessities are required. Designing for times of war is survivalist design. During war there was a great inventive leap due to the requirements of survival. Therefore if only designing and building minimal, that spare money can allow technology to advance at a higher rate. Nevertheless this is not what the current market wants or needs!

"It is not possible to live in almost any type or form of house one likes to name in any region of the world that takes the fancy."

Coming back to the futuristic skin theme:

"The skin which can be seen through, the skin which can be parent to all within, the skin which can be regularized, the skin which can be treated as an environmental totality."

This design can be seen as organic because it acts like a body does for organs.

My highest rated concept in the reading was the concept involving jets of air propelling people up off the ground, into non-existent beds for people to sleep in. An entire grid of powerful jets of air along the ground provides this new design method. Is it possible that in the future these jets can be controlled with our minds? Or what about a grid of poles which lift from magnet levitation. The user would be able to lift these 0.1m x 0.1m poles establishing walls and rooms. The user can change parts of their developed mind architecture as they please. The user can also start again or save a house setup for a new skin location. All simply created with the user's mind!

"If only we can get to an architecture that really responded to human wish as it occurred, then we would be get somewhere.."

Organic indeterminate design solution: A continuous realm of biological-electronic control systems, representing the principles of "flow and organicism".

To summarise the skin aspect: The set limitation would be the actual exterior skin, whilst the interior would have no limitations except for the imagination of the user.

"'Less is more' aestethic. We get caught up in an abstract delight in the 'nothingness' architecture that this suggests."
"It's funny how we're so advanced now that we live in boxes" - Horrorshow
As Archigram suggests, maybe humans will always be happy to live in simple, set forms. Perhaps humans do not like the opportunity of future architecture, or perhaps the market will sway the trend of architecture into future architectural trends?

"Human dwelling was being revolutionized by networks of traffic, aerodynamics, and telecommunications."

Architecture without borders/walls - minimalisthousedesign.com

"Architects of the future might not be concerned with enclosure at all or at least not built up enclosures. We could all be floating around in weatherproof space suits, taking "shots" for our feeding or any other physical or mental stimulus  that we might require. Somewhere though there would still have to be a horizontal plane, demarked with neon lights if you like, but in some way suggestive of a place where we could work out our feelings of community." 

From my own personal perspective, this is the future of architecture. No built enclosures. Holographic walls which can be walked through or walls which disappear as the user desires. However the aspect of floating around with no gravity seems extremely bizarre. Perhaps in a good hundred years, when space travel is more advanced, people will visit the moon and 'architecture' as such will exist.

"Place as found in nature, not prepackaged by design."

"By developing elaborate simulations of green fields, fresh breezes, and quaint people within the confines of the individual home."

"We must construct a living paradox which is able to recognize conflict without emotion."
The idea of architecture which deals with human emotions.

"The pill and the plastic liver have ended the concern that we are all part of some wonderful inevitable natural process."

Sadler, S., 2005. Beyond Architecture. In. Archigram: Architecture Without Architecture, Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press. pp90-138.