Impact on emerging technologies

Impact of Emerging Technologies on Architecture and Environment
(Ms) S Valsson, Non-member Prof V Varghese, Member
With the advent of new materials and advanced technologies, the new structures, the so called attractive, outstanding buildings are the signs of progress. But with the increased awareness of urban design and in the context of environment they appear to be product of ignorance.Their physical presence affects the environment. For example, buildings with walls of reflecting glass panels, claiming to fit aptly within their existing neighbourhood, only aggravate the situation further. They do not provide any positive solution to enhance the environment and are starkly contrasting.
Keywords: Ecology; Sustainable practices; Architecture

INTRODUCTION For many yearsmodernization and technical innovation was the call of the day, and the common assumption was, that every new invention was bound to improve traditional practice, otherwise no body would have bothered to search for innovation. The growth of science and technology have produced immense material benefit and it would be pointless to imagine that the today’s world could manage without them. And it is impossibleto deny, that there have also been important gains in the social and the political arena. The twentieth century has introduced a new unbalancing factor; possibly the most serious of all technology, that knows no scale and no limit. That produces more and more with no justification other than that of generating the purely material wealth of a consumerism oriented society. Technology facilitated thegrowth of dogma, the dogma of automation, of speed, of efficiency and particularly of aggressiveness. The challenge of the coming years is to find ways of establishing a balanced relationship between technology and human existence, and maintaining social equilibrium and the balance of nature. TRADITION AGAINST MODERN TECHNOLOGIES There was a time before the onset of mass industrialization, when amuch greater harmony existed between people and places, when there was a much better understanding of how to interact effectively with our environment. In the building technology the move was from simple construction methods based on local resources towards an increasing use of commercially produced building components. Only during the last two decades more and more users began to realise thatmany of the modern products have a number of disadvantages too, sometimes they are harmful to
(Ms) S Valsson is the Lecturer, M M Department of Architecture, LAD College, Nagpur and Prof V Varghese is the Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, KDK College of Engineering, Nagpur. This paper was received on March 16, 2004. Written discussion on the paper will be entertained tillJanuary 31, 2005.

human health, they may have a very limited length of life, or they do not ensure the properties claimed by their producers, and above all they are costly to the house owners and not supportive of the national economy. There have been significant losses in the shift from a traditional way of life to a modern one. In the recent decades it is seen that instead of the human welfare,technology is used for financial, commercial and political power propagation. Instead of directing technology towards the creation of fair, socially and environmentally conscious notions, the attempt is to overpower and disturb natural equations. GLOBAL CONTEXT In this era of globalization as a result of communication and information revolutions, more and more western concepts in construction and useof materials are adopted without giving due consideration to the climate or the social context. This alienation must be reduced so as to assist people to feel at home in their own world. Traditionally, Indian culture has respected nature, ecology and sustainable living. However, with increasing western influences and modern technology Indians are paving the way to environmental degradation and...