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Introduction and Theory |Emergence of Interactive and Dynamic Architecture

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Introduction and Theory |Emergence of Interactive and Dynamic Architecture

With the addition of technology, however, the potential use cases of dynamics become even greater. Digital computation of integrated circuits has continued to progress, experiencing an exponential growth in power and a reduction in cost, creating a chain reaction where advancements in one field can drive advancements in another. Gordon E. Moore states in his 1965 paper “Cramming More Components onto Integrated Circuits:”

“Integrated electronics will make electronic techniques more generally available throughout all of society, performing many functions that presently are done inadequately by other techniques or not done at all. […] Reduced cost is one of the big attractions of integrated electronics, and the cost advantage continues to increase as the technology evolves toward the production of larger and larger circuit functions on a single semiconductor substrate. […] The complexity for minimum component costs has increased at a rate of roughly a factor of two per year (see graph). Certainly over the short term this rate can be expected to continue, if not to increase. Over the longer term, the rate of increase is a bit more uncertain, although there is no reason to believe it will not remain nearly constant for at least ten years.”[5]

Moore’s Law, although not a law by the traditional definition, is a perceived rate of technological growth based on these observations. According to Moore, technological progression will continue to grow where the number of transistors within an integrated circuit (therefore, computational power) will double approximately every year. He later updates this observation to every two years in 1975.[6] While Moore’s Law is by no means certain, this observation has proven to be fairly accurate from the technological progressions of the past decades. (Fig. 1.1.16 - 17)

This has allowed the production of relatively cheap electronics, which are now integrated throughout people’s everyday lives. It can be seen as smartphones in people’s hands, appliances in various homes, computers in various offices, and as streetlights around the world. Michael Fox states in Interactive Architecture: Adaptive World, “The field of industrial design came to engage with tangible interaction out of necessity as appliances became progressively ‘intelligent’ containing more and more electronic and digital components,”[7] which not only substantiates this observation of technological integration amongst the populace but also mentions the influence of this technological procession on other fields, which shows the significance of this technological revolution on the world. With so much computational data around us, and the ever-increasing accessibility of intelligent objects, the potential for integrating such technologies within architectural systems becomes increasingly powerful. Many architectural elements are already making use of these technological

Silicon transistor progression through the years

From “Happy birthday transistor!,” translated with Google Translate, accessed December 18, 2019, http://astron.dmitryshevchenko.com/2017/12/19/transistor/.

This graph shows the progression of transistor count within integrated circuit chips through the years, as described by Moore’s Law

From Max Roser and Hannah Ritchie, “Technological Progress,” May 11, 2013, Our World in Data, accessed December 18, 2019, https://ourworldindata.org/technological-progress.