The Future of Architecture: 7 Challenges and Trends
Architects share how the industry is addressing sustainability, accessibility and urban design
1. Environmentally Conscious Architecture
Climate change is one of the most pressing and interesting challenges for society and, of course, for architecture. New European guidelines mandate that all homes built in Europe after 2020 consume almost zero energy. “Although architecture got on the green bandwagon late, measures seeking to make it a sustainable part of society are now being put into place,” Pardo says.
Today we see an increasing awareness of building techniques. “We think about an architectural project from a thermodynamic point of view more often, seeking to reduce energy consumption,” Pardo says.
New buildings will incorporate water-saving systems, energy-efficient appliances and better insulation. “Strategies to do with the understanding of primitive factors, such as sunlight and wind direction, will be taken into account,” Pardo says. All this will be done to reduce the carbon footprint of our buildings.
2. Recycling and Reusing
The principles of the circular economy also are starting to be implemented extensively in architecture. The aim is to decrease the environmental impact of construction. Construction and demolition produce one-third to one-half of the solid waste of developed countries.
Until now, the model followed in construction was linear: produce, build, use and throw away or demolish. This meant extensive energy and natural resource consumption and the production of massive amounts of waste.
The circular economy operates on “a model based on cradle-to-cradle design. The base principle of this model is taking advantage of and reusing everything that is considered waste, and being efficient with resources in all phases of construction,” Pardo says.
Many manufacturers already offer building materials with a circular life cycle: finishes or coatings made out of recycled materials, such as tires or glass; insulation panels made of crushed cork waste; and materials made of waste cellulose from the paper industry.
Building with natural materials such as straw or adobe also generates less waste because these can be recycled and reused, which means less consumption of energy and resources.
3. Renovation Instead of Demolition
Old or unused buildings can be turned into avant-garde structures, given new life or transformed into contemporary homes. This year we are seeing the principles of recycling applying more and more to building rehabilitation.
“Rehabilitation policies gained momentum as a result of the economic crisis,” Pardo says. “The reason is financial in many cases: Instead of buying a new house, people have opted to renovate the one they already have.”
Fernández Langenegger defines renovation as “a way to approach construction from a more ecological and sustainable point of view.”
“There isn’t much space left, and we are becoming increasingly aware of how precious a piece of land without buildings is. In Germany, for example, the direction is to make an already built space more dense, changing the parameters of buildable space, requalifying spaces or creating more houses of smaller dimensions,” says Fernández Langenegger, who has lived in the German city of Stuttgart for several years. “That is, making cities more dense rather than expanding them.”
4. Using Local Materials
Building techniques based on local traditions and resources are becoming increasingly prominent. Just as chefs talk about the 100-mile diet — the concept of purchasing products directly from producers within a 100-mile — “architects have come up with their own interpretation of it,” Pardo says. “Today it’s unthinkable to propose a project that does not take into account the origin of materials and the ecological future of the site over the medium and long terms,” he says.
5. Inclusive Architecture
Architecture has a social function. “Among the youngest architects, there is a major awareness of problems facing the elderly. Old age, reduced mobility and factors such as vision loss or loneliness, for example, are offering new challenges for architecture,” Pardo says.
6. Quality Over Quantity
The new luxury in architecture will be the quality of the space instead of the square footage. Due to the rising cost of housing and the increasing tendency for people to live in large cities, residential architecture must provide small-scale spatial solutions for small budgets. “Traditionally, luxury has been linked to the material aspect of architecture. Luckily, this concept has been shifting toward other variables that have more to do with what is atmospheric, spatial, flexible and perfectible,” Pardo says.
7. Renewed Focus on Public Space
The 20th century developed cities centered on the personal car. In the 21st century, however, there is a push toward the recovery of public space. “We can see this in many cities’ new transportation policies: The car is being banished in favor of recovering public spaces for people,” Pardo says.
“Cultural, social and technological changes, as well as those related to advances in infrastructure and transportation, are inviting us to rethink the way in which cities are developed, and to propose new responses based on a pragmatic analysis while avoiding clichés,” López says.
“More and more buildings are being designed with common spaces and collective domestic services, such as kitchens, day care centers, laundry rooms, etc.,” López says. “These models seek to establish relationships between neighbors and promote communication, socialization and increasingly profitable space.”
The challenge for architecture lies in creating urban spaces for coexistence and leisure, where people can walk, play or simply enjoy the open air.
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