Roger K. Lewis draws some interesting conclusions about the future of architecture (and it’s hard to deny the future of architecture has a direct impact on the future of construction and engineering) in his recent article in the Washington Post.
He contrasts the excesses of the Burj Dubai, and MGM Grand’s City Center in Las Vegas, with the realities of reconciling the built environment’s environmental impact in the years to come. He no doubt peers into what can be described as a prophetically accurate crystal ball that reveals perhaps only a small amount of what the world faces in trying to undue humanity’s burden on the planet. But for wise builders, (those most interested in creative building), his predictions about reclaiming the existing built environment should be music to the ears.
Despite current use and physical condition, an existing building embodies an enormous amount of previously invested energy and economic resources. That energy and those resources went into producing, transporting, finishing and installing the building’s many materials, as well as acquiring and preparing the building site, including off-site infrastructure.
And while he admits that many aging buildings may be beyond saving he sees many of them offering new creative design and construction opportunities for all of those in the AEC industries.
Indeed, transformation of existing buildings probably will account for a growing share of construction in coming years, if not decades. And transforming an existing building frequently can be an opportunity for artful creativity and invention, as aesthetically stimulating as constructing something totally new, grandiose and unconventional.
Perhaps there are the seeds of a new paradigm in building here. After all, wouldn’t it be glorious to build creatively in synch with the natural environment, instead of insanely out-of-synch with it?
