Abstract

Inventors and theorists provide a prediction function to technological development offering breakthrough inventions that are not realized until long term if ever. Engineers, and entrepreneurs forecast innovations by developing the technology for markets some ten years out. It is designers that determine new models less than three years out from conception. With so much control over what technologies are utilized by society with regard to buildings designers of the built environment, architects, need to have a more critical understanding and ability to critique, and select technology for building. Recent developments in integrated contracts suggest a realignment of the means by which buildings are conceived, designed and delivered. Similar to the master builder era when architects were also building engineers and constructors, through a flattening of the process and products that make up buildings, architects have the potential to influence all of the technology development phases of building including predicting, forecasting, and projecting materials and digital technologies into the market sector. This paper will present the technics of building, outlining ways in which architects might integrate with manufacturers and fabricators to determine technology.