Top 10 Architectural Innovations of the Next 50 Years:
10. Wireless plumbing
9. Good looking concrete
8. Plexisteel
7. Temporary buildings that are actually temporary
6. Miniaturization
5. Building DNA
4. "Smart" floor tiles
3. Sport utility houses
2. Self-cleaning dormitories
1. Virtual reality bathrooms
The Cows of Architectural Styles:
ART DECO: You have two cows. You paint one silver, and make the other stand up on its hind legs.
INTERNATIONAL STYLE: You have two cows. You put them both in identical boxes.
BRUTALISM: You have two cows. You skin one and bury the other in concrete.
LATE MODERNISM: You have two cows. You slice one in half and encase it in glass. The other you disembowel and glue its innards on its outside.
POSTMODERNISM: You have two cows. You paint one green and purple and give it a hat, and you dress the other one in mismatched clothes.
Architect, Landscape Architect, City Planner, or what?:
Choose the answer that best completes the sentence.
Trees a. are good for hiding a poorly designed part (or whole) of a building.
b. are an essential part of the environment.
c. keep the air fresh and clean.
d. make a decent building material.
e. are an annoyance.
f. look good.
Light is
a. vital to the spirit.
b. vital to life.
c. to be shared.
d. a type of electromagnetic radiation.
e. required to do work.
f. a luxury.
An ugly building is one that is
a. poorly proportioned.
b. lacking in vegetation.
c. not in harmony with its neighbors.
d. lacking in maintenance.
e. in need of a renovation.
f. out of style.
An empty lot
a. ought to have something built on it.
b. could make a good park.
c. is a potential crime magnet.
d. makes an impromptu parking lot.
e. is easy to work with.
f. a waste of space.
A hundred-story building on a small Pacific island would be
a. impressive.
b. disasterous to the environment.
c. out of scale.
d. hard to have a proper foundation.
e. a logistical nightmare.
f. stupid.
The most important room in a house is
a. the living room.
b. the garden.
c. the kitchen.
d. the basement.
e. the bathroom.
f. the bedroom, or more importantly, the number of bedrooms.
If your choices were mostly
a. You're an architect. While your designs may be visually stunning, chances are that is all they are.
b. You're a landscape architect. With designs both ecologically friendly and attractive to the community, landscape architects are well recieved by all people except Architects. Too bad there's this thing called rain.
c. You're a city planner. You actually understand that a site does not exist in a vacuum and ought to fit into its context. Unfortunately, there's very little you can do about it.
d. You're a civil engineer. Your designs are solid and work, as they follow the best way of solving the problem. Fortunately there are architects to mess things up so not everyone's living in a box.
e. You're a contractor. You don't really care what's being built, only how it's built. Or maybe you don't care much about that either.
f. You're a developer. You actually get stuff built that 99% of the population finds agreeable. Too bad the other 1% just happen to be the people in the neighborhood where you're building.
If cars were designed by architects... Your car would be designed based on what kind of road you live next to. This process would take several years, even though there are already many cars on the street you live on. After your car is designed, your town government will have to approve it. Then your neighbors may complain and force you to redesign your car. When the design is finally finished, your car will be built from scratch. Parts will be sent to your garage, where the workers will then proceed to assemble your car. This will take 50% longer than you expected, and cost 100% more than expected.
The finished car will look nothing like some of the older cars, although it will run on the same engine. It will look very impressive from the front, less so on the side, and even less so on the back. This is because all parking is tail-in.
Every few years you will have to repaint your car, both on the outside and on the inside. Periodically you will reupholster your car. The car itself will last over a hundred years if properly maintained, though you may need to strengthen the frame by adding steel bars to the outside.
Eventually when you want to get a new car, you will have to dismantle the old one first. If you're lazy you can simply blow up the car.
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