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Smart Architecture,
by Ed van Hinte, Marc Neelen,
Jacques Vink, and Piet Vollaard.
Smart architecture is never just green - it
is always something more.
Thus reads the manifesto for Smart Architecture, a Dutch
Foundation that poses many questions about the future of
architecture, urbanism, and sustainability in this little
book. While it's clear that the individuals involved have
an optimistic viewpoint based on the integration of technology,
engineering, and ecological/environmental concepts, the
book presents a variety of projects to illustrate their
ideas, rather than theorizing for 200 pages. This decision
makes everything easier to swallow, and the pluralism present
in the first three sections (future dynamics, cycles and
systems, and efficient building) is very stimulating. From
art projects to buildings by the like of Thomas Herzog and
Ian Ritchie to grand urban plans, the reader sees green
and technological ideas in action at all scales. But by
the time we reach the last section - a grouping of five
practices that embody Smart Architecture's ideals - one
can't help but wonder if the preceding sections set the
bar too high for these practices. Only time will tell if
the ideas of 2012
Architecten or Ruimtelab
have any impact, much less one aspired to by the folks at
Smart Architecture.
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