Contemporary Techniques in Architecture - Computerized Futures - Book Review

Architectural Review, The, Sept, 2002 by John Winter

CONTEMPORARY TECHNIQUES IN ARCHITECTURE

Edited by Ali Rahim. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons. 2002. [pounds sterling]22.50

One can debate as to whether the computer in its present state will just change the way that architects communicate, or whether it will lead to a fundamental change in architectural form itself. Would the present obsession with fractal geometry have come about anyway as part of the ever changing taste of architectural stylists, or is it an inevitable result of computer power?

Ali Rahim is in no doubt that the computer will change architecture, technology and human culture itself. He welcomes an open-ended search to see where CAD will lead us and will interact with the world beyond. He has gathered a series of writers to reinforce his argument and to contribute essays to this book. Their use of the English language does not make for an easy read, but it is worth the struggle, as we all need to understand the possibilities opening up for us.

My personal favourite among the essays is Zaero-Polo of Foreign Office Architects describing and illustrating the construction of their Yokohama Port Terminal. Here is fine architecture that it would have been difficult -- or impossible -- to conceive without computers and minds that could exploit their potential. I found this wonderful building a more convincing argument for the benefits of CAD than all the theoretical essays.

Is it broad-mindedness or just chance that led to the inclusion, at the end of the book, of a younger generation's reappraisal of Mies? Diane Lewis, Professor at Cooper Union, writes of the death of Post-Modernism leading to the rediscovery and acceptance of Mies's contribution. So the last time that architecture reached the Olympian Heights it was created with pencils and parallel motions!