Looking into the future

In preparation for my next talk I am researching Sci-Fi movies - since months. Just today I found a really nice article on "Cloud Atlas" on io9. Here they quote the makers of the film:

»but with the Wachowskis, they talk about the history of skyscrapers and how building materials have dictated the shifts in architectural language. From stone towers to metal and glass we pondered the next leap in architectural vocabulary- nano built structures, organic skins with solar cells etc.«

Architecture is always evolutionary as it is always based on a common understanding or a "shared hallucination" (via Ruth). Shaped by our use of materials and our society, architecture always represents a common vision of the future. That future neither has to be true for Sci-Fi movies nor for Architecture, but by deciding to implement this common vision, it allows us to agree on a model. And this model in turn can be questioned by anyone who would have not understood the details. This is why Sci-Fi movies are such a great example, they represent a pre-made iteration-1 prototype.

Sometimes, Architecture brings several disciplines together. As in Calatrava's case. That's why I like Martin Fowler's new Crossplatform framework of the same name. It allows an evolutionary approach, leveraging the power of Mixed-Model apps. Coming back to the materials, it allows us to take the fabric, the logic of an activity and make it truly technology independent - by actively choosing which technology is appropriate in which context.