Architects don’t just want to create good-looking buildings. They thrive on applying innovations – like new technologies and materials – and guiding design trends.
In simple terms, architecture is about designing and building structures to satisfy a human need. But as an intrinsically creative discipline, architecture reflects contemporary culture and can inspire cultural transformation.
What’s changing?
As architect and Curtin University lecturer Zaid Osama reminds us, architecture is about achieving a purpose, and, from the basic need for a shelter, those purposes have evolved throughout history.
“The purpose might be functional, it might be societal, political, spiritual or symbolic, or all of them,” Zaid says.
“But the rapid growth of the built environment has had major consequences on natural resources, and on the environment and its people. So, I think a main goal of today’s architecture is sustainability.”
With the global population projected to be 9.7 billion by 2050, there’ll be more buildings, more infrastructure, more cities. So it’s reassuring that sustainability has become front-of-mind for contemporary architecture practices.
In fact, of the United Nations’ 17 sustainable development goals, four speak directly to architecture, to reduce the carbon footprint of the construction and maintenance of the built environment.
Another huge change has led from a recent population health catastrophe – COVID-19, which impacted homes and workplaces all over the world. Suddenly, millions of people were working from home, with many sharing the space with school-age children. Devising functional workspaces in the home environment was necessary, and adaptability was taken to a new level by the confines of the pandemic.
“This makes the design task more complex and intertwined. But now, we can utilise data to more efficiently create more responsive and adaptive built environments,” Zaid says.
What’s special about adaptive design?
Adaptive designs enable us to revise our spaces easily. They consider how various changes – in technologies, user needs and environmental factors, for example – can be incorporated to make sure that a space remains fit-for-purpose.
“Adaptive design uses cognitive approaches driven by facts. How will the space be utilised? What is the best functional layout? And can it be configured to maximise efficiency and sustainability?” Zaid explains.
“It deeply analyses existing or expected use patterns (how users behave in and utilise a built environment), and then synthesises the analyses into planning and design frameworks.
“The focus is on the ability to respond to changing circumstances such as use patterns, functional program, sustainability, and climatic and sociocultural factors.”
Incorporating tools and technologies that accommodate user diversity is a key goal of adaptive design. A simple example is a height-adjustable kitchen workbench that can be lowered in seconds to become a dining or study table. Another important trend is to ensure that dwellings can meet our needs as we age – rather than move to another residence – and suit people with mobility limitations.
Zaid cites the Edge construction in Amsterdam as a great example of adaptive design and a clever prototype of a self-sufficient building.
“It’s a 15-storey office building and there are 28,000 sensors throughout the structure. Those sensors connect with how users are using the spaces – what we call ‘occupational behaviour’,” he says.
For example, energy to the spaces that aren’t being used is suspended, which not only reduces energy consumption, Zaid points out, but also reduces the load on the mechanical systems that deliver lighting, heating and cooling. And it doesn’t require fossil fuels for its operations.
“Once you arrive and park, you’re connected to the building, and you become part of a dynamic system that behaves like a living body that adjusts to the changing conditions within.”
Digital twins double the benefits
Zaid is currently completing his PhD at Curtin, and his research is extending the use of sensors in a technology called ‘digital twinning’.
Digital twinning creates and uses a virtual copy of a structure or an environment to illuminate what is really happening in that space. As part of his project, Zaid developed a digital-twin framework for areas of Curtin University’s Perth campus. However, his framework shifts the focus from the conventional concept of the digital twin – which depends mainly on sensors – to a more comprehensive,
user-centric approach.
“For example, we ask users to describe and explain their choices in real-time – why they’re using building A and not building B; why they’re using this pathway not the other one,” he says.
In effect, the approach adds a useful qualitative element to a data-driven framework, to create what Zaid refers to as an ‘ecosystem’ that involves a real-time connection between an asset, its virtual copy and the users.
The benefit is a deeper understanding of the existing use patterns and efficiency of the space. Digital twins could therefore be invaluable for future facilities – from their planning and design to operation and management, including energy supply.
“And it can go deeper to monitoring and assessment of structural and architectural elements, to manage these elements, mitigate errors, and achieve an adaptive built system – and sustainability goals.”
The next stages involve the digital twin applications driven by the framework, which focus on adaptive and cognitive architecture and urbanism practices. His team have already created several digital-twin applications that can inform the planning, design, operation and management of the campus.
So is the Curtin team’s work preparing the ground for a major innovation in built environment practices?
“I think that our digital-twin approach will set the foundations for novel data-driven planning, design and management practices. Digital twins can be a transitional vehicle for many traditional practices – whether the context is a single building or an entire city,” Zaid says.
The world’s tallest timber building: putting Perth at the height of sustainability
The imminent construction of a unique building near the Swan River and not far from the University campus, is exciting for Zaid and all the staff in the School of Architecture.
The C6 project, as it’s currently known, is designed to be carbon negative – storing more carbon than it uses. It will use less steel and concrete than conventional construction methods, and include edible and floral gardens on its rooftop.
“Architects are now addressing human wellbeing in their designs. It wasn’t a concern in the 20th century – designs were all about function and production and industry. Now, there are more and more examples around the world where timber is the main building material,” Zaid says.
“We’re so proud to have the building design approved. It’ll be the tallest mass timber building in the world, and it’ll be in Perth. But what’s most exciting about this development is actually not the height – it’ll be a 20-metre high, 50-storey building – but that it’ll be the tallest building with 40 percent of its structural component as timber instead of concrete.”
“This radical shift from concrete and steel, which are the conventional building systems, is significant. To begin with, you have a less impact in terms of carbon footprint. Timber as a natural material is a bank of carbon – it absorbs carbon and it keeps it in it for a long period of time, in contrast to concrete and steel, which would emit a carbon footprint.
“Another important thing is the ability to make the timber a renewable resource. If we look at concrete, you need fossil fuels and you need non-renewable energy to be able to produce that material.”
Because the building will also provide a healthy environment for the occupants and minimise energy consumption, it aligns with several Sustainable Development Goals. So, equally exciting to the local architecture community is that the project could see Perth become a global leader in sustainable architecture.
And it’s a great opportunity for Perth to come to the global stage and be a leader in sustainable architecture and built environment.
“And architecture can be a great way to achieve what we call city branding, where you have something unique that you showcase to the world, to have a positive impact your economy,” Zaid says.
“Throughout history, many cultures and many cities have evolved around architecture and have used architecture as their language and identity – often to demonstrate glory and power. This was actually the case for the first Sumerian civilization in Mesopotamia, where I come from.”
From historic Mesopotamia to present-day Perth, architecture continues to both reflect and influence society. And the innovations that enhance sustainability and adaptive design are sure to be continuing trend in the 21st-century architecture.
To learn more about Zaid’s research, listen to our podcast episode, The Future of Sustainable Architecture, and you can discover more Curtin initiatives in sustainability on our Sustainable Futures webpage.
Get involved in architectural innovation
If you’ve found this article interesting and you’d like to contribute to sustainability in the built environment, gaining a Bachelor of Architectural Science could be the right career pathway for you. You’ll also find a lot of additional useful information in our advice article on how to become an architect in Australia.
If you feel that you’re a designer at heart, and you’re intrigued by the design innovations that impact society, check out Curtin’s course in Design Innovation and Fabrication and the other majors we offer in our Bachelor of Design.
But if you can see yourself immersed in the data processes that underpin digital twinning and other potential innovations, explore our degrees in the realm of information technology.
