An Evolved Architectural Philosphy of Progress

This Editorial is dedicated to what I believe are the supporting philosophies of Sustainable Building Information Modelling as a continuity of 19th and 20th Century Modernism ideals deriving from and celebrating honesty and spirit

MODERN ARCHITECTURE: L'ESPRIT NOUVEAU

Immeubles Villas by Le Corbusier

Twentieth century Modern Architecture sought to replace archaic building practices with modern methods and vigor --L'Esprit Nouveau was a positive answer for postwar rebuilding. What crossed the Atlantic was little more than fragmented commercial imagery where structure became ornament, Kernform became Kunstform. After the brief rise and fall of Postmodernism in America we are now finally discovering that Modern architecture never died but continued elsewhere, evolving into a variety of forms before reimerging in America as purpose driven sustainable design.
The first great mistake of our Modern predecessors was allowing a movement born out of genuine purpose to reduce to an aesthetic style. To prevent this history from repeating we should seize the opportunity to integrate analysis technology as an informative design tool, second only to our spirit.

HIGH-TECH SUSTAINABLE MODERNISM: THE EVOLUTION

A green office building by Future Systems

High-tech Sustainable Modernism, or what may ultimately be called High Modernism (in preference to the clumsy phrase "bionic architecture") has now had several generations of refinement and is today more exciting then ever. Twentieth century modern architects left a trail of many unfortunate failures in North America. Designing without precedent was a new found freedom for designers that often became a burden upon society. This, the second mistake of modern architects was made by those individuals who strictly favored "a priori" rather than "a posteriori," or the predictable knowledge ahead of the experienced. Their methods of analysis were particularly weak and they placed no value on the trial and error process to learn from others mistakes.

Today when introducing new building types and construction methods into any region of the globe it is imperative that we utilize analysis technology, not merely to predict energy consumption but to iteratively refine the design performance. This method of gaining knowledge through simulated experience has greatly benefited the automotive and aerospace industries and is about to revolutionize the building industry.

FORM FOLLOWS PERFORMANCE

Concept for an off-grid office building

The collaborative approach for analysis and design works to replace intuition with iteration. Experienced iterative analysis as a design tool follows a natural process for a refinement of design performance. The ideal of Modernism that Form Follows Function mislead generations who confused economy and spatial convenience for inherent purpose, or purposiveness of form. Form Follows Performance tells the philosophy in a manner which cannot be misconstrued, which must lead ultimately to our goals of Green Living in a world of rapid urbanization.

GEOMETRY OF NATURE
Studies of bifurcations approaching turbulent behavior

Often forgotten were the movements and many individuals throughout Modernism who looked to nature to guide designs related to structure, form, and ornament. From Viollet-le-Duc, Gaudi, Wright and Aalto, to current innovators such as Norman Foster and Future Systems, the influence of nature on modern architecture has been profound. It is worth noting that these architects focused also on the interactions between the user and the natural environment, and on the performance of the building. Holistic design inspired by and venerating nature is today termed Biomimicry.

COLLABORATIVE PROCESS

The drive for a competitive edge needs to be redirected towards the larger enemies chipping away at climate stability. If one is passionate about sustainable design they cannot simultaneously wish to see competing firms or countries producing an inadequate shared environment. The Green BIM Network is a pure collaboration of environmentalist architects and engineers. There is no hidden agenda but the desire to be a part of a cause that will make future generations proud, and for each of us the confidence to look in the mirror at the end of the day and know that we've contributed.