The Architect as a Scientist: New Materials Emerging Between Science and Design

"What is architecture? For some, its traditional role is to bring together imagination, technical knowledge, and problem-solving, allowing architects to design and construct while balancing ideas with the means to realize them. From the stone and wood of early buildings to the steel and concrete of the 20th century, each era demanded not only an understanding of form but also of the properties and potential of the materials in use."

"Over time, that balance has begun to shift. Architects have moved from merely using materials to actively designing them, applying scientific principles and experimenting with biological, chemical, and computational processes. This evolution has expanded the possibilities of architecture, intersecting nature, technology, and art, while pushing the role of the architect into a more experimental, science-driven dimension, where the manipulation and creation of materials becomes central to the creative act rather than merely a means to achieve forms or structures."

"In his time, Vitruvius defined architecture as "a science arising out of many other sciences, and adorned with much and varied learning", highlighting its artistic and cultural dimensions. This multidisciplinary character, still central to university education, provides tools for exploring related fields such as urban planning, sculpture, and graphic representation. However, until a few decades ago, the technological aspect was largely absent."

Architecture historically combined imagination, technical knowledge, and problem-solving to balance ideas with means of realization, relying on available materials and technologies. Material understanding shaped form and structure from stone and wood to twentieth-century steel and concrete. A shift has occurred as architects move from using to designing materials, applying scientific principles and experimenting with biological, chemical, and computational processes. The role of the architect becomes more experimental and science-driven, emphasizing manipulation and creation of materials. The discipline retains a multidisciplinary character that supports exploration of urban planning, sculpture, graphic representation, and emerging technological fields.

Read at ArchDaily