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Reviewed by Rob Whitehead, AIA, HLKB Architecture
 While
technology has radically changed nearly every aspect of our lives
over the last century, few of these innovations have affected the
architectural and construction industry as a whole. Why
haven’t many of the major advancements in engineering,
manufacturing and material sciences become integral parts of
today’s architecture? According to Michelle Addington and
Daniel Schodek in their book Smart Materials and Technologies, a
main problem lies in the differing intentions of designers and
scientists.
The two authors argue that there is little common ground between
what designers seem to want and what scientists produce. Architects
tend to want “smart” technologies to fit neatly within
the hegemony of existing practice structure, while scientists, on
the other hand, have focused on their research on miniaturization
and simplification for manufacturing, not architecture, producing
technologies without a “home”.
In teaching and research at Harvard over the last 10 years,
Addington and Schodek have tried to harness the wealth of knowledge
available from material scientists and engineers and make these
advances accessible to designers. The result is a thorough and well
researched book that attempts to bridge the large gap of knowledge
between the two seemingly disparate groups.
The authors don’t offering any shortcuts. Designers looking
for an accessible “how-to” manual of smart materials
should look elsewhere; this is a textbook that is both
grammatically and conceptually dense. The first half of the book
defines terminology and describes the fundamental characteristics
of the physical world, including in-depth summaries of basic
physical, electrical and chemical properties. Readers that happily
left thermodynamic equations and atomic covalent bonding theory
behind will struggle, just as I did, through these sections.
Mixed within these scientific lessons, however, are descriptions of
a broad range of amazing new materials, technologies, and control
systems. Many designers may be vaguely familiar with some of the
terms presented (thermochromatic materials and photovoltaics) but
the depth of information surely exceeds the knowledge base of
nearly every reader. For example, the authors include an
explanation of materials and color change—not just the which
and how, but the why, too.
Near the end of the book, in a fascinating but disappointingly
brief section, the authors focus on how these innovations may come
together to form “intelligent environments.” They smartly
offer more challenges than solutions, and leave one to critically
consider technology’s role in the future of
architecture.
Because of its presentation style, the book seems well suited as a
companion piece for a college course, or as an indispensable
reference guide for product development. However, its intellectual
content is as a challenge to all design professionals to embrace
the potential of technology and rededicate themselves to working
toward bridging the gap of knowledge and practice between
construction and technology.
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