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The future of architecture

Architecture has always been a mirror of the historical stages in which human beings have developed. Its function has been to protect and safeguard society, and technological evolution has been reflected in buildings and constructions, originating in what is known as architectural trends, which have changed with the passing of time.

Architecture also became an artistic manifestation, through its architectural designs, which is why this discipline goes hand in hand with technological advances in favor of society. Every day poses new challenges and challenges, to which it must respond with viable solutions.

Thus, it can be affirmed that the architecture of the future must favor the development of society and at the same time help it to continue developing. Therefore, some academics agree that the work of the architect in the future must be reconsidered because it is uncertain and there is the possibility of other pandemics and diseases that could spread rapidly. Hence, it is necessary to rethink a new lifestyle.

People today have realized that human beings have destroyed much of the environment and life itself, so in the future, (not so distant) architecture should maintain a close relationship with nature and even stop the deterioration of the ecology with solutions inspired by sustainable architecture, and in some places are already implementing sustainable solutions that are friendly to nature and human beings.

Within sustainable construction, materials and technologies are a mix of ancestral techniques and industrial methods, since the energy and environmental efficiency of existing buildings and houses must be increased, solar panels must be installed, and energy-efficient lighting and appliances must be installed.

Urban centers should also be self-sufficient and have everything needed for their inhabitants to live fully, such as stores, parks, recreational areas, sports facilities, health centers, and roads for cycling or walking, thus reducing long commutes.

Today more than ever, sustainability, quality vision, and energy efficiency are shaping construction, and the future of construction.

By Ingrid Luna

Impact of BIM on the construction industry

Many people know that BIM is the acronym for Building Information Modeling, but few understand the scope of this methodology and technology in construction project management, especially the benefits it offers to the industry.

BIM is a complex procedure that includes interaction with information from different stages of the development of a construction project, along with cooperation and general management.

The results of BIM is an informative model of a construction project that includes all the information about how it was built, the history of the decisions that were made, at what stages, and other important information.

Therefore, BIM is more than an extension of traditional 3D modeling software, it is a unified information resource that spans from project conceptualization to regular maintenance or the end of the project life cycle.

In other words, Building Information Modeling is the evolution of the construction industry, which has changed the design, construction, and management of projects to make them easier and more convenient to manage.

Construction companies using BIM find it easier to schedule their work, manage material, estimate costs and take care of overall project operations, and for this to work successfully requires a detailed evaluation process, followed by an effective and timely decision-making process to ensure the best results.

There are different people involved in the construction and formulation of a construction plan, and missing information can cost the entire project, BIM facilitates the exchange of communication and streamlines the process for contractors and project managers to achieve their goals.

This tool has proven to be effective for both large-scale and smaller-scale construction projects and has delivered excellent results.

Thanks to BIM all stakeholders involved in the project have access to the master model, this improves the decision-making process, also companies can have a better cost estimation by analyzing the model and the project can be visualized before building it. Also at construction sites, the risk factor is decreased and the cost can be reduced to make sure that everything is carried out as planned.

The time for BIM adoption has passed. Now is the time to explore the multiple dimensions of BIM and expand its scope to cover the entire construction lifecycle. It is practiced and implemented at every step of the value chain, BIM can provide significant opportunities for the construction industry to elevate the quality of the industry’s products to a much higher and more sophisticated level.

By Ingrid Luna

The importance of architecture in the metaverse

Architecture is a half art and half science, it shows a form of creative expression that allows society to look at its environment and also responds to the needs of society, currently the metaverse is a space where users develop through virtual avatars and where architects must create spaces for the development of human activities in this virtual world.

What is the metaverse?

The word Metaverse appeared for the first time in 1992 thanks to the American writer Neal Stephenson in his novel Snow Crash, which describes a collective virtual space compatible and convergent with reality. In the book, people use digital avatars of themselves to explore the virtual world and escape from their reality.

Several movies such as Matrix or Ready Player One took up this concept, where people require an avatar to access the virtual space, but where the creation of original characters was limited by a few elements. On the other hand, the video game Fornite began to exploit in a certain way the interaction between people and technologies to create experiences similar to those of the real world, where interaction and communication are essential elements.

Currently, the technology communities consider the metaverse to be a developing idea that is seen as a new version of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), where entertainment, work, and academic activities will be possible.

The metaverse is the digital realm in which any idea that can be created can exist, so for architecture, it represents an opportunity to create “a parallel world”, an area of possibilities, without any restrictions with a massive demand for content to generate the rise of digital architecture and create virtual spaces such as stadiums, entire cities or recreate buildings that exist in the real world.

Architecture in the metaverse

Architecture in the real world is responsible for the construction of spaces where human social activities are developed, such as housing, leisure, and social entertainment, so it is one of the basic elements of the metaverse world since in this virtual space people can interact, and it is here where architecture becomes important to develop the spaces of coexistence in the metaverse, as it is the cultural expression of the moment.

In addition, the three-dimensional characteristics and design methods of construction determine the natural connection between construction and 3D visualization technology, since virtual constructions existed before virtual worlds. In the construction industry, design software is used to make three-dimensional drawings, which could be an antecedent of virtual architecture.

However, the difference between virtual construction in the design process and virtual construction in the context of the metaverse is the interactivity, so in this space, architects will not only have to create plans but also integrate their knowledge to develop different projects, since the creation of the digital environment where the interaction between avatars will take place will test the design of space for avatars, with needs different from those of people in the real world.

Thus, architecture takes on great relevance in the metaverse because there are already real estate and real estate development companies that are promoting the acquisition of land in the virtual world, so the architect plays a very important role in collaboration with professionals from various branches of visual development, within the metaverse to create a space where users, through avatars, can access a parallel world very similar to the real one.

The first virtual building in the metaverse

A Danish architectural firm designed the Viceverse building for Virtue Worldwide, the creative agency powered by Vice Media Group, considered the first virtual building in the metaverse.

This virtual office is white, with a corrugated facade and multiple levels that can be accessed through a central tunnel, employees are planned to work through NFTs, and clients will attend presentations and demonstrations of recent projects.

Architecture is one of the main axes in the development of digital environments for the metaverse.

By: Ingrid Luna

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