GregInnovation in architecture is very important to the industry. The functionality and aesthetic appeal of a home needs to constantly evolve in order to meet the changing tastes and requirements that the inhabitants and users of said buildings have. Driving innovation in architecture results in interesting buildings which have greater functionality, reliability, durability and aesthetic appeal.
What Drives Innovation?
The question then becomes what exactly drives the continued innovations of architects? The innovation in the architecture of buildings is, at this point, becoming driven more and more by the changing requirements of the users of the buildings and by the technological advances in; what we use to design structures, and the materials of those structures. Both of these also feed off of each other; recently the requirements of buildings have shifted more and more towards energy efficiency; advances in technology have ensured that we can respond to that need and continue to improve upon that response.
We’ve also talked about how CAD has allowed for greater exploration and experimentation of what can be achieved. Couple this with the advances in building materials and components, we regularly see a vastly increased speed in innovation.
Another big driver of innovation is actually to do with pre-existing technology. History is riddled with discoveries of something being built for one purpose but with far reaching applications, and experimenting with previous technology has produced interesting applications for the construction of buildings too.