Article 227 - The Death of Architecture in Buildings

The Death of Architecture in Buildings

Theory

This essay proposes that up to 8000BC; when the first settlement was created; Architecture; to obtain, use, and change nature; was communicated through the creation and use of buildings. After this the need for buildings has declined and been superseded by the more advanced, denser, wider spread, complex Architecture of communications.

Method

Definitions of the terms being discussed, historical context, current context, future context and the contextual change to the nature of the Architecture are examined.

Finally conclusions are drawn.

Data in excel tabular form is set out at the end of the essay to indicate the relationships of the Architecture.

References are included in the text and at the end of the essay.

Definitions

In relation to this essay the following definitions of the terms discussed are held to be.

Architecture

‘the art or practice of designing and constructing buildings.’

‘the style in which a building is designed and constructed, especially with regard to a specific period, place, or culture.’

Source: Google Search Definitions.

'In order to execute, it is first necessary to conceive. Our earliest ancestors built their huts only when they had a picture of them in their minds. It is this product of the mind, this process of creation, that constitutes architecture and which can consequently be defined as the art of designing and bringing to perfection any building whatsoever. Thus, the art of construction is merely an auxiliary art which, in our opinion, could appropriately be called the scientific side of architecture.'

Source: Etienne-Louis Boullée Architecture: Essay on the Art.

The Universal Architecture is in current context a ‘product of the mind, this process of creation, that constitutes architecture’ through Mass to Energy to Mass interaction to allow re-creation.

Source: https://sites.google.com/site/architecturearticles/home/article 125. Architecture as Idea

Contextual

‘depending on or relating to the circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement, or idea.’

‘depending on the preceding or following parts of a text to clarify meaning.’

Source: Google Search Definitions.

Settlement

‘a place, typically one which has previously been uninhabited, where people establish a community.’

Source: Google Search Definitions.

Village

‘a self-contained district or community within a town or city, regarded as having features characteristic of village life.’

Source: Google Search Definitions.

Town

a built-up area with a name, defined boundaries, and local government, that is larger than a village and generally smaller than a city.

Source: Google Search Definitions.

City

‘a town created a city by charter and usually containing a cathedral.’

Source: Google Search Definitions.

Smart Phone

‘a mobile phone that performs many of the functions of a computer, typically having a touchscreen interface, Internet access, and an operating system capable of running downloaded apps.’

Source: Google Search Definitions.

Historical Context

The first settlements were constructed around 8000 BC.

The first cities were constructed around 7500 BC

Chatal Hoyuk; a neolithic mound city; was constructed around 7500 BC

The City of Assur was constructed around 6563 BC

Animal domestication, painted maps, abstract maps were created around 6500 BC

Wooden framed housing and mortice and tenon joints were used in China around 6000 BC.

All of the elements of the Architecture; ideas; of an individual, group, family, culture or society were communicated through buildings in elements such as foundations, walls, floors, ceilings, finishes, fittings, utilities, orientation to environment, material characteristics forming functional shapes by 8000 BC.

The Architecture; ideas; of the need and method of formation of settlements at specific locations confirms that the knowledge of geology, geography, physics, chemistry, seasonal variations, time, resource, energy, population hierarchy and administration was present by 8000 BC.

The nature of the existence of the individual and relationship to environment was only displayed through the built form up to 8000 BC.

The Architecture, ideas, forms abstracted out of nature of the foundation, post, beam and envelope were already established by 8000 BC.

Current Context

Populations

Populations are increasing.

In 8000 BC the world population was 5,000,000.

In 6000 BC the world population was 5,000,000.

In 2017 the world population is 7,600,000,000.

As the human population increases the land area used for buildings increases.

As the built area increases the total available land area for humans to survive decreases.

Assuming that the amount of built up land area is linked to increasing population numbers the variation in built up land area from 8000 BC to the present can be calculated on the basis of population x human land use.

Fossil Fuels and Climate Change

Climate change is occurring due to the use of fossil fuels by humans.

Source: IPCC Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report

Depletion

Energy, Natural Resources and the Environment are depleting.

Source: https://sites.google.com/site/architecturearticles/home/article-045

Communications

Communication technology is evolving towards complexity.

Information can be quantified.

Source: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au April 10/2012

Our current output of data is roughly 2.5 quintillion bytes a day. 2.5e+18 bytes per day

Source: http://www.iflscience.com/technology/how-much-data-does-the-world-generate-every-minute/

Source: Domo

This allows for 328,947,368 bytes per human currently alive on Earth.

Future Context

Increasing Populations lead to the description of the future Earth to be one of less available land to build on, less land area due to sea level rise, less land for food and water, less energy and less resources.

The nature of human existence on Earth from 2017 onwards from the data therefore necessarily involves less environmental use, less energy use and less resource use to allow human society to survive.

Source: https://sites.google.com/site/architecturearticles/home/article-225---status-of-the-mineral-resources-of-the-earth-2017

Those human activities that use fossil fuels, that assist in climate change and use most resources will have to be reduced.

Construction and its associated industry can be established to be at least responsible for 60% of final energy use and 45% of total CO2 (greenhouse gas) emissions in 2010.

Source: https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/global-greenhouse-gas-emissions-data#Sector

Source: https://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar5/wg3/drafts/fgd/ipcc_wg3_ar5_summary-for-policymakers_approved.pdf

SPM3 P6

Source: http://oecdinsights.org/2016/08/22/global-construction-sector-corporate-responsibility/

Source: https://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar5/wg3/drafts/fgd/ipcc_wg3_ar5_summary-for-policymakers_approved.pdf

P23, P24

Future construction should therefore be limited or prevented to allow adaptation to the effects of the current context of a century of climate change, depleting fossil fuel use and depleting energy, resource and environment humans are having to adapt to.

Source: https://sites.google.com/site/post2020housingsolutions/what-it-takes-to-construct-a-house-in-the-uk-in-2015

Contextual Changes. Architecture.

Architecture was once the science of the contextual communication of the perfection of the practice and theory of other arts.

Architects once studied practice to create theory to create practice to allow artefacts to be created.

This sequence in our current context of energy, resource and environment depletion cannot continue.

Artefacts create depletion so the practice of creating artefacts must be controlled.

Architects must study the context of practice and create evolutionary theory to control the production of artefacts to reduce depletion.

Architects must control depletion through evolutionary contextual theory.

Source: https://sites.google.com/site/architecturearticles/

Contextual Changes. Data

Examining the relationships of year, population, built up area, percentage land use, bytes of information per day, bytes of information multiplied by population, phases of information change, the communications to built up land area ratio, the built up land area increase and the communications increase.

Historically 4 Phases of Architecture related to Information can be established from the data examined.

Phase 1

From 8000 BC with the founding of the first settlements up to 6000 BC.

Phase 2

From 3000BC; when papyrus writing was used; up to 1838; when the telegraph was used.

This allowed between 1000 bytes and 250,000 bytes of information per human per day.

Phase 3

From 1838 to 1927; when the television came into use.

This allowed between 250,000 and 328,947,368 bytes of information per human per day.

Phase 4

From 1927 the Architecture of the information has remained in audio / visual form but has been transmitted over larger and denser networks. This allowed up to 328,947,368 bytes of information per human per day.

It can also be stated that.

The total amount of information increases as population increases.

In 8000 BC the total population of the Earth was 5,000,000. Only 0.065% of the current population.

In 8000 BC the total amount of information can be estimated at 5.00E09 bytes per individual per day.

In 8000 BC only 0.0000002% of the information obtainable to an individual in our current society was available.

Conclusions

Architects must control depletion through evolutionary contextual theory.

Climate Change, Environment, Resource and Energy Depletion will necessitate a reduction in building and construction.

Construction should in the future be limited or prevented to allow adaptation to the effects of the current context of a century of climate change, depleting fossil fuel use and depleting energy, resource and environment humans are having to adapt to.

Allowing for 1 person to 1 building to 1 byte of information per day in 8000 BC.

Allowing for population increase.

Since 8000 BC up to 2017 the communications density and amount of information exchanged has increased by a factor of 500,000,000.

Since 8000 BC up to 2017 the built area has increased by a factor of 1,761.

Since 8000 BC the ratio of built area to communications density is 1 : 283,929.

Since 8000 BC the built up area has become increasingly secondary to the density and ability to exchange information by a factor of 283,929

Buildings have therefore become gradually more redundant since 8000 BC.

The Architecture as order, arrangement, sequence, economy, language, sign and symbol has been since 8000 BC a re-assembly of previous components of previous; often dead; societies ideas and knowledge.

Since 8000 BC communications have taken over from buildings as the true Architecture; ideas; of human society.

Architects must control depletion through evolutionary contextual theory through the Architecture of Communications not the Architecture of building.

Data

Additional References

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_communication#Timeline

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_communication_technology

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Search

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_population

Source: Google Search world population

Ian K Whittaker

Websites:

https://sites.google.com/site/architecturearticles

Email: iankwhittaker@gmail.com

02/01/2018

14/10/2020

1609 words over 5 pages