RECENT ARCHITECTURAL INNOVATIONS
Chau Chak Wing Building:
One example of innovative use of architecture is Frank Gehry’s new building design for UTS (University of Technology Sydney). The building will be made out of 380,000 bricks and will have a unique system to keep each brick in place. The building will cost approximately $150 million and it will be for the UTS Business School where 2,390 students and staff will study.
Building construction:
Building the structure was very hard as the bricks had to be placed very precisely in order for the building to be stable (sometimes only about 80 bricks would be placed in a day.
Building design:
Five brick shapes, designed by Austral bricks will make up the building’s wavy brick exterior. The solution to keeping the bricks in place was a custom-made groove-and-bolt system.
Recent Architectural innovations (materials):
Solar panels: Solar panels are a very effective way of producing sustainable energy. They convert the sun’s energy into electricity (used for light, heating water and powering televisions and other appliances etc.). The idea of sustainable energy is very big and I think we will defiantly see some changes to architecture involving this idea quite a lot in the future.
Cross-laminated timber: Cross-laminated timber is a type of timber that is laminated specially to be strong. It is also good because its light weight.
Self-healing concrete: Cracks in concrete can be big problems. There is now a new form of concrete that uses the sun to fix and heal cracks called ‘Self–healing concrete’. Personally I believe that this is a wonderful invention as it prevents cracks, making structures look unattractive and can also prevent them from possibly falling apart.
Aerogel insulation: This is a new form of insulation (developed by NASA) that is very effective. Not only does it insulate well but it is extremely lightweight. This is a great way of keeping warm without heating (fires – use wood and heaters – use electricity/gas).
Sweating rooftops mats: This is a new innovation that cools buildings through perspiration. The mats are made out of a special polymer and are 5 millimeters thick. There are many ways of heating buildings but not many ways of keeping them cool so I think this is an excellent idea and could potentially be very big.
Innovative Architects:
Frank Gehry: Frank Gehry is one of America’s most well known architects. He has designed multiple structures that are innovative, interesting and mind-blowing. Some popular ones are – The Dancing House in Prague, The Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto.
Shigeru Ban: In 2014 architect, Shigeru Ban, won the Pritzker Architecture Prize for his structure entirely made out of cardboard. He has produced many other buildings that are also innovative in their use of materials, patterns incorporated into buildings and overall form and shape of the structures.
FUTURE IN ARCHITECTURE
Architecture is developing all the time. From classical architecture to now, there have been many innovations and developments to change aesthetics and uses of architecture, but what does the future hold for architecture? One big topic is sustainable and environmentally friendly architecture. Today there are inventions that follow this concept (solar panels, recycles materials, aerogel insulation etc.). I think it is possible that we could see some new innovations and changes in the near future.
Architecture 