HIGH TECH / LOW TECH

_{Prof. Brian Cody}

An interesting question we are currently dealing with is "High Tech or Low Tech?" and which of these approaches is the better way to achieve our energy efficiency and sustainability goals. A well-founded discourse on this question has not yet taken place in the scientific community. In the discipline of architecture, discussions are conducted along purely stylistic lines. Nevertheless, in recent years, a clear tendency - albeit more emotional than intellectual - towards the preference for a low-tech approach can be discerned, both among researching and practising architects and among students. This development is both fascinating and - in an age of such massive technological development and such dependence on technology in everyday life - somehow disturbing. Is this tendency even a direct consequence of the increasing dependence? Why is "low-tech" in architecture "in"? Are we dealing with a kind of marketing hype for a new style? Is it because the approach seems to be able to match the stylistic language of the respective architectural goals? Nobody wants a low-tech mobile phone, a low-tech car, a low-tech computer. Why a low-tech building? When is a building high-tech? The question is less simple than it first appears. In order to have a meaningful discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of a high-tech or low-tech approach, we first need precise definitions for it or at least an understanding of what these terms can mean. We are currently developing a methodology that will allow a rough classification of buildings into high-tech, low-tech, or intermediate categories based on the extent and degree of technical sophistication of the technologies used in a building.

Duration

July 2013 - ongoing

Publications

Cody. B.: „Technology, Architecture and Sustainability. Theorie der Technik in Architektur und Städtebau“, in: Wolkenkuckucksheim - Internationale Zeitschrift für Theorie der Architektur, Vol.19, Issue 33(2014), S.237-247.

“Smart Buildings”, Wing business 4/13, ISSN 0256-7830

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