Roof structure, Warner Park - Madison, Wisconsin Click for larger view
As noted in Architecture 2030’s Blueprint for action to reduce CO2 emissions, we have an opportunity to transform the built environment and dramatically reduce energy use in buildings as we construct, renovate and demolish 11 to 12 billion square feet of buildings each year in the U.S. But, what are we going to build and where will we build it?
Will population continue to concentrate in metropolitan areas, as has been the dynamic for the last century? If so, will the concentration continue to occur in existing metropolitan areas where many of the expensive investments in infrastructure have already been made? Or will changes in transportation, information and energy technologies make less dense living feasible and preferable for increasing numbers of individuals and families?
Ray Kurzweil, in his challenging and fascinating book The Singularity is Near, describes the exponential development curves we’re experiencing in artificial intelligence, genetics, nanotechnology and robotics. Applied to transportation, nanotechnology guided by artificial intelligence will surely make existing modes of transport smarter, lighter and more energy efficient. Longer term, virtual experiences which change the way we define travel and completely new modes will portend changes in the way we self-organize in communities and in the shape of our living spaces.
Subsequent posts will explore sustainable self-organizing, beginning with an effort to make sense of what we are doing now.
Will population continue to concentrate in metropolitan areas, as has been the dynamic for the last century? If so, will the concentration continue to occur in existing metropolitan areas where many of the expensive investments in infrastructure have already been made? Or will changes in transportation, information and energy technologies make less dense living feasible and preferable for increasing numbers of individuals and families?
Ray Kurzweil, in his challenging and fascinating book The Singularity is Near, describes the exponential development curves we’re experiencing in artificial intelligence, genetics, nanotechnology and robotics. Applied to transportation, nanotechnology guided by artificial intelligence will surely make existing modes of transport smarter, lighter and more energy efficient. Longer term, virtual experiences which change the way we define travel and completely new modes will portend changes in the way we self-organize in communities and in the shape of our living spaces.
Subsequent posts will explore sustainable self-organizing, beginning with an effort to make sense of what we are doing now.
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