ICT and the New Architecture

EXPERIENCE MUSIC PROJECT
Seattle, Washington

I watched Building the Ultimate: Extreme Curves on the Science Channel today.

Computers are revolutionizing the way architects design buildings, allowing them to seemingly defy old engineering principles. Frank Gehry has done more to push the envelope of mainstream architecture than any other architect alive.

I was impressed how much the architecture of Frank Gehry is the product of modern ICT. Of course the designs come out of Gehry's mind, but I think they could not be built without computers and the Internet.

The most famous buildings a large and ignore the normal process of load bearing vertical walls and columns for shapes that flow and soar. As a result, there are huge engineering problems in actually constructing the buildings. Techniques pioneered in the aerospace industry and the development of the space station have been applied to Gehry's buildings. Not only is computer aided design employed to validate that the designs will actually stand up, but the computer generates huge parts lists. The designs involve tens of thousands of parts, each unique, that must be assembled in the proper order. Only the computer aided processes can generate the parts lists and detailed drawings sufficiently efficiently to make the construction projects feasible.

The computer data and software is shared between architects, engineering firms, construction firms and the firms making the parts for the buildings. Because of the Internet, specialist firms from all over the world can collaborate on the design in real time, without moving to a common location.

I am sure that the multiyear construction projects also utilize ICT based project management systems originally pioneered in the aerospace industry. Indeed, I would guess that the firms that made the titanium skin for the Bilbao Guggenheim Museum or the structural steel pieces for the large buildings also depend heavily on computers for the actual manufacturing processes.

We can trace the technology for building monumental buildings back to the ancient Egyptians and ancient Mesopotemia but Gehry's buildings seem really new, and I think that novelty is significantly due to the fact that modern computer and information technology makes the management of their complexity possible for the first time.