Flexible Buildings: The Future of Architecture | Free Documentary

Recent questions

• How is urbanization impacting the world?

  Urbanization is rapidly increasing in Latin America, Africa, and India, with Africa needing to build as many buildings in the next 15-20 years as Europe has in the last 200 years. This growth poses challenges of division and inequity, prompting architects, urban planners, and engineers to seek solutions for future living conditions. Cities concentrate opportunities and wealth, with over 50% of the global population residing in urban areas, projected to reach almost 70% by 2050. Urban spaces are expanding both vertically due to elevators and horizontally due to cars, leading to a reevaluation of traditional mobility forms.

• What are the challenges faced by architects and urban planners?

  Architects and urban planners are grappling with the challenges of division and inequity in rapidly urbanizing regions like Latin America, Africa, and India. The concentration of opportunities and wealth in cities, coupled with the need to construct as many buildings in Africa in the next 15-20 years as Europe has in the last 200 years, presents significant hurdles. The outdated technologies of cars and elevators are seen as isolating individuals, prompting a reimagining of future cities without these traditional mobility forms. Innovative concepts like the "Urban Shelf" propose flexible, multi-level living structures devoid of cars and high-rises to promote social interaction and sustainability.

• How are neighborhoods impacted by land use decisions?

  Land use decisions in neighborhoods are often driven by international companies or real estate developers aiming to maximize profits, resulting in areas lacking essential services like grocery stores, pharmacies, daycare centers, and healthcare facilities. This lack of vital services can negatively impact the livability and well-being of residents. MIT's City Science study group, led by Kent Larsen, is developing tools to enhance livability in towns and communities by simulating the impact of land use decisions on neighborhoods and cities. By predicting consequences such as traffic flow and population density, the group aims to create more functional and sustainable communities.

• What is the focus of MIT's City Science study group?

  MIT's City Science study group, led by Kent Larsen, focuses on enhancing livability in towns and communities through the development of tools that simulate the impact of land use decisions on neighborhoods and cities. By analyzing factors like traffic flow and population density, the group aims to create more functional and sustainable communities. Projects in Hamburg and Helsinki are addressing housing and campus redesign using simulation tools, while the group's robotic interiors project aims to create flexible spaces within single rooms, transforming functions effortlessly.

• How is architecture evolving to address societal needs?

  Architecture is evolving to address societal needs by incorporating a multidisciplinary approach that includes philosophy, politics, sociology, and more to inspire designs. The humanistic aspect in architecture, often neglected in schools, emphasizes the importance of understanding the wishes of those being designed for. A new approach involves incorporating brainwaves of inhabitants into building designs, using 3D printers to translate these brainwaves into geometric shapes. This innovative approach aims to create spaces that are not only functional but also responsive to the needs and desires of the individuals who will inhabit them.