According to Reto Meier, in his recent article, The Future of Mobile: Invisible, Connected Devices with Infinite Screens, there will soon be "contact lenses that project a visual feed directly onto your retina" over the current "high resolution screens, tablet devices, and HD output from mobiles". Additionally in twenty years, "you [also will be] the computer", over today's "lighter, thinner devices that last longer". It seems as though people idealize the age where physical effortlessness is quintessential, thereby making the tangible obsolete. As technology becomes more compact and virtual, it only seems to make sense for the architects to jump on board as well and at least make the effort of searching for a virtual solution. Although currently, tangible material is the most obvious solution to space-forming, we should envision the future and embrace immaterial processes in constructing architecture as well.
Throughout history, the definition of architecture has been varied in many ways. These variations occur not just outside of generational and geographical barriers, but also within the same backgrounds and learning environment. Whatever these definitions are, most will agree that the term architecture somehow deals with designing of a space. Thus far, the most obvious solution to manipulating that space has been through the means of a tangible material. But these advancements and diminishing desire for material for the future, have compelled architects to now reconsider the allowable means of manipulating space outside of its typical boundaries. This idea of intangibility in architecture, however, is
nothing new, as shown with architecture that is shaped by elements such as light and sound, shown on the image to the right. It is simply the reality that people can experience space and become so affected that they move and progress through space under its influence.This is the reality of architecture. Architects not only already manipulate spaces with the intangible, but more so they believe it is essential that those elements are used to enhance spatial experience. It therefore would not make sense to not explore these potential intensifiers.
In response to the predictions of Meier in the beginning of this entry, MIT Technology Review has responded with some fulfilled realities and promising futures. In response to his 20 year screen prediction, author Mims writes, "transmitting images to such displays will be non-trivial. Wouldn't it be easier to simply perfect augmented reality specs?" It shows we are closer to these "future age" than we think and that most of the world looks forward to them with open minds. Keiichi Matsuda, the creator of the Augmented (hyper)Reality: Augmented City 3D shown in the video below, asserts that "the architecture of the contemporary city is no longer simply about the physical space of buildings and landscape, more and more it is about the synthetic spaces created by the digital information that we collect, consume and organize; an immersive interface may become as much part of the world we inhabit as the buildings around us." This is the reality of the world today. Engineers and scientists not only work to manipulate devices but are promoting manipulations in reality, shaping and molding space as well.
In the remote future, investing in immaterial means of spatial manipulation could also be the "sustainable" solution that so many architects share a concern for. There is an abundance of surplus building material companies, at the hope of recycling and reusing the unused; this clearly expresses just how much of these "excess materials" are remaining. Afterall, who would actually desire used/recycled materials and anything not-new, if the new had zero negative impact on the environment? Though this statement seems far-fetched now, we look to the bright future of naturally generated energy, which generates virtual realities far more sustainably than constructing and forming in materials.
Technology is moving forward to enhance our lives in every possible way. Likewise, architects should utilize these advancements to enliven the spatial qualities. Not only have architects throughout history, dealt with intangible materials such as light, sound, and even taste to shape spaces, but this is the future of the human race: "instead of disembodied occupation of virtual worlds, the physical and virtual are seen together as a contiguous, layered and dynamic whole. It may lead to a world where media is indistinguishable from 'reality'. The spatial organization of data has important implications for architecture, as we re-evaluate the city as an immersive human-computer interface" It may, in the long run, prove to be the ultimate sustainable means, generating little to no harm to the environment. Ultimately, architects should explore outside of their comfort zones of dealing merely with the tangible. They should progress with the rapidly changing technology, not limiting themselves to the sense of touch to mold a space. And likewise, when exploring these immaterial fields, they should not neglect the physical and tangible world nor view them any inferior, just as all of the senses that a human being possesses are equally important in different ways.
