Archinect
surjan _

surjan _

Chicago, IL, US

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The State of the Art of Architecture

Architecture is in a critical state. With digital software erasing its history, architecture needs a radical new city of preservation. With this being said, the state of architecture lies in building types that do not yet exist. Architects have selective memories about the history of architecture, and therefore cannot perceive beyond their own legacies. Thus architecture finds itself in an era of so-called digital expansion, but it is really in a state of constant repetition. The digital expansion of software and its ability to rapidly generate diversity is a direction that architects have blindly embraced. But rather than embracing the digital realm, architects should be including precedents of historically analogous structures into the process of design, producing a state of architecture in which traditions of building can evolve forward into possible types of cities for the future. Starting with building traditions and their physical, rather than digital, presence will ensure the continued development of lessons for today and future generations as new technologies are introduced and old ones become obsolete. In other words, digital invention is a falsehood that could be transformed and rebranded as radical preservation. Introducing histories past, present, or forgotten will unlock architecture’s digital controls and radicalize all structures for possible long-term preservation. Preserving the history of architecture in a digital condition can also continue physical lessons beyond the university and into working offices. Architecture firms would therefore not develop a singular style, but instead could adapt with an on-going state of architecture. To encapsulate architecture’s contemporary moment is a phenomenal opportunity, and one which requires broad perspective. The notion of radical preservation is timeless; it simultaneously includes the past and future states of architecture. The current state of architecture lies in desperate need of radical preservation to keep our building traditions from being lost through recurring digital nightmares.

 
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Status: Competition Entry
Location: Chicago, IL, US
My Role: design scientist & writer
Additional Credits: S. Hjelte Fumanelli - project architect & digital modeling

 
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Continuous Skyscraper_02.