The design and architecture of our built environment is stupid. Inertness of thought and practice has been prompted by inertness of product. Currently, designers traverse rocky ground between the fluidity of the concept sketch and the discernible parameters of construction. They are forced into choices from an incredibly limited pallet. If for a moment we consider the brick, we can see that many of its perceived advantages are intellectually unsustainable. Its merits, we are told, include its wide range of colours, its human scale, simple going methods and ease of procurement - but not its capacity to keep out water. Brick buildings must there fore incorporate many preventive measures, such as damp proof courses, or even a second wall to stop water penetration and allow space for insulation. A house with a house is a silly idea for the of the twentieth century. The hand is gloriously adaptable, holding pens playing instruments, picking the noses are among the many skills in its infinite repertoire. Which tool the hand becomes is determined by the mental software run on it. But it is a biological machine, a meat tool; it cannot change topological form. What hopes have we in a real space and real time of escaping material stupidity? Is it possible to design materials that can change their innate qualities and topologies? The answer, perhaps, lies in nanotechnology.
(Digital Dreams. Neil Spiller)
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