ARCHITECTURE AND TECHNOLOGY: 
An Issue of Condemning Ourselves to Freedom? 
Archt.Arosh Gamage 
Writing about architectural material 
sciences, Airapetov says that "In the 
past, architecture followed mate?
 rials, but today materials follow 
architecture". One wonders how true 
this statement is and if its vice-versa 
can be made to become true. Indeed, 
the recent advancements in science 
and technology have placed before 
the building and construction indus?
 try various commercial materials and 
products now available in the 'Glo?
 bal Market which are undeniably se?
 ductive. Increasingly, materials and 
technologies are being employed in 
the creative pastime of architecture 
that seems to warrant some basic 
questions. Why do we at times go to 
the end of the world to import materi?
 als and technologies that are alien 
and questionable from the point of 
view of sustainability when local and 
simple materials are closer at hand 
to do the same job? Can fantasy for 
form override the availability of such 
materials and technologies, their ap?
 propriateness and relevance? Can the 
ever-sophisticated materials and 
technologies that are being played to 
create architectural acrobatics to 
contain simple spaces be justified? 
In fact, what Airopetov claims is that 
in the contemporary context, forms 
are conceived for the sake of the form 
and that materials are engaged to 
pursue those forms. While there is 
perhaps a great deal of truth in this 
claim, when you look around the 
emerging architectural forms and logi?
 cal finesse, a fundamental question 
remains to be answered as to what 
an architect should play in determin?
 ing the future and application of 
these new materials. Without ques?
 tion there is an intimate affiliation 
among the ideology of an architect, 
the materials, and technologies em?
 ployed for building and the act of cre?
 ative art. We understand that build?
 ings respond to the physical stresses 
of climate: heat, cold, humidity, ra?
 diation and light, and to the mechani?
 cal stresses of gravity, wind and snow. 
For this reason, construction tech?
 nology and materials are regarded 
only as modifying factors and not 
determinants of form. There is a clear 
agreement that the availability of the 
choice of materials and construction 
techniques to an architect in any given 
situation will greatly influence the 
form of a building. 
But did technology play a modifying, 
influencing role, or did technology de?
 velop as an answer to a design prob?
 lem itself? One of the basic problems 
in architecture, and the principal prob?
 lem in construction was and indeed 
still is the spanning of space, the col?
 lection of gravitational forces and their 
transmission to the ground. This re?
 quires materials having reasonable 
tensile strength and reasonable 
weight strength ratio. Under - bone -
 skin-felt or t imber-plated, wooden 
or transited vegetable fibres are such 
forms as malting textiles and rope. 
It is well documented in literature that 
the so-called primitive and pre-indus-
 trial vernacular buildings have used 
materials that are most conveniently 
available. Due to the overwhelming 
power and influence of Nature during 
those times, the local materials are 
believed to have determined form. In?
 deed there have been many in?
 stances where the choice of mate?
 rial depended upon the type of build?
 ing to be constructed. There was the 
tendency to use permanent solid 
materials such as large sections of 
stone to build the temples and pal?
 aces while general populace built their 
dwellings with inferior perishable 
materials. The choice of material no 
doubt was influenced by traditions, 
religious prescriptions, desire to gain 
prestige and position through build?
 ings as much as the fashions in 
vogue. 
Where does technology stand 
in architecture? 
It is fair to claim that architecture is 
a creative art that uses technology 
for the benefit and upliftment of man?
 kind. In this sense architecture has 
the privilege and the rights to exploit 
the advantages of technology in any 
positive way that its masters believe. 
This means that architecture should 
employ technology distinctly to deal 
with all structural, mechanical, light?
 ing, acoustics or resolving other en?
 vironmental considerations of build?
 ings to create habitable spaces. 
Pompidou centre for art and cul?
 tures Paris designed by R. Rogers 
and R. Piano is a functionalist build?
 ing where the architects decided to 
turn inside' ' out'. This building 
could be considered as a reaction 
against the purity of early modern?
 ism, which ce lebrated a break 
through in building construction. 
The elements of engineering and ser?
 vices such as ventilation units air-
 conditioning ducts, glazed exterior 
escalators are clearly visible on out?
 side. Though it meant to be both a 
beautifully designed container and a 
servicing mechanism the result face 
lot of controversy and ended up 
considering to be an 'oil refinery1 or 
a'glass palace'. 
SUA JOURNAL VOL 103-NO.02 
29 
Pompidou centre 
All the materials used in an archi?
 tectural work, all the building and 
mechanical systems and all the 
techniques of technological inno?
 vations must be for the betterment 
of society articulated through the 
making of architecture belonging to 
a particular era. 
There is no doubt that the use of high 
technology makes the cost of build?
 ings exceptionally higher. In Hong 
Kong and Shanghai Bank Head 
Quarters, the plan, form, structure, 
materials and method of construc?
 tion was designed to the need ex?
 acting the functional and technical 
demands of the world's leading finan?
 cial institutes. The use of technol?
 ogy was selected with the need to 
build as quickly as possible and to 
the highest standard of quality. This 
is a great product of architecture that 
reflects the connection between art 
and technology that has mastered 
I long Konj? and Shanghai Hank I lead 
Quarters 
technology as a means of creating 
well-articulated spaces for human 
activity. Again, in this abundance of 
new materials, systems and tech?
 nologies, the temptations to employ 
them are indeed immense. 
Eagle Rock House designed by Ian 
Richie has an abstract expression. 
He caters for the client's wish to have 
a house as a form of a bird. The form 
is translated through the articulated 
structure and the suspense of the 
wings. The movement of the exter?
 nal blinds is a play on the scuffling 
of the bird's feathers in response to 
the climate. 
The structure centres on an inclined 
frame of circular hollow steel sec?
 tions that provides a cove for the sus?
 pension of the body of the building 
and its two wings. The body is con?
 structed of vierendeel trusses sup?
 ported by goalpost frames that also 
provide lateral stability. The main 
entrance, the ends of the vierendeel 
trusses are suspended from the 'A' 
frame. The wings are prismatic 
trusses supported by the body and 
by suspension rods from the central 
'A' frame. Yet all these have at?
 tempted to achieve through the 
perimetres of the concept home'. 
Eagle Rock House 
House at Almere, near Amsterdam 
designed by Benthem Crouwel has 
tried out it to be dismantled and 
removed, leaving the site completely 
clear. This had light-weight, low cost 
high performance materials that 
would allow the house to be re-lo?
 cated. Space standards and the 
number of components were kept to 
the minimum. This shows the use 
of technology to the advantage of the 
users' specific need. 
House at Almere 
Moreover, the variety and speed at 
which the technologies advance 
make it extremely difficult for the in?
 dividual architects to keep and main?
 tain an in-depth awareness of all the 
innovations involved. In this context, 
problems are bound to crop up in the 
individual decisions of the architects 
to use one material or another for 
construction when a large number of 
choices are available. Is it not ironi?
 cal that the abundance of choice 
the modern developments have of?
 fered to the architects in terms of 
materials and technologies itself has 
become a 'problem' that has under?
 mined the role of technology in the 
conception and making of architec?
 ture? 
In the Medical Faculty, Technical 
University of Aachen, the mega 
structure of 24 towers dominates the 
compos i t ion . These house the 
ver t ica l c i rcu la t ion and plant. 
The main structure of in-situ and 
precast concre te is an imated 
v isual ly by yel low and si lver 
ex terna l steel ducts and by 
red painted steel cradles, railings, 
stairs and canopies. This, however 
depic ts the way technology 
has been used superficially without 
any consideration to its pleasing 
aesthet ics in the making 
of architecture. 
30 
SLIA JOURNAL VOL 103-NO.02 
Medicul Faculty, Technical University 
of Aachen 
As a recent critic has commented, 
architects have liberated themselves 
from the traditional and conventional 
constraints that limited them on the 
choice of their materials and tech?
 nologies, but this has in no way cre?
 ated the freedom' to advance hu?
 man habitat. Instead, he claims that 
the architects have condemned 
themselves to freedom' a clear ref?
 erence to the fact that this freedom 
has indeed been doomed to create 
architectural monstrosity devoid of 
humane and socially responsive am?
 bience. Undeniably, there are con?
 flicts and contradictions of the role 
of technology to provide architecture, 
with its structure and form and at the 
same time revealing its time! 
Emerging Spirit of Technology 
The spirit of our age, many would 
agree resides in technology; the so-
 called high-tech and, in advanced 
technology that employs new-age 
materials. Architects participate in 
the production of them as much as 
make use of them in the conception 
and construction of new forms of 
space. Techno logy has 
revo lu t ion ised the industry, 
transport, communication systems, 
travel and without doubt the very act 
of hab i ta t ion . In this contex t , 
architecture is often seen as a 
branch of industrial technology. The 
motifs of high-tech have come to 
reside in exposed steel structures, 
celebrated air-conditioning ducts, 
plug-in serv ice pods etc. The 
following buildings demonstrate to us 
the range of options available and 
how the application of technology 
can generate exiting forms. 
In these works, technology is 
employed as a representation of 
function while "the experience of 
architecture" emerges through the 
visible articulated and celebrated 
engineering structures. 
Inmos Microprocessor Factory in 
Newport South Wales designed by 
Richard Rogers creates friendly 
stimulating environment for the 
employees within its production 
machine while other messages such 
as the speed of the design and 
construction, environment control, 
and responsiveness to changes 
within the complex are conveyed 
through its techno logy and 
materials. 
Centre for PA Technology in 
Princeton N.J. also designed by 
Richard Rogers provides a high level 
of freedom in circulation and staff 
conduct, flexible arrangement of 
offices, while conveying a strong 
visual impact expressing company's 
innovative technology. 
Computer Centre, Lennox Wood 
has designed is sited in a dramatic 
setting. This required a building 
in sympathy with its surrounding 
while providing high level of security 
fencing. Simple high quality materials 
used intended help this whi le 
reflecting the image of a leading 
company operating in the field of 
computer technology. 
Lloyd's Building in London -
 Commercial Union & P & 0 office 
towers to the North is designed as 
a single market place under one roof. 
This is known as "the Room" to be 
experienced as a room. The main 
design considerat ions were to 
maintain full continuity at trading, 
wi th min imum d is turbance to 
facilitate the flexible explansion and 
construct ion of a commercial ly 
viable office development. It also has 
Inmos Microprocessor Kacton 
Centre for PA Technolog) 
Computer Centre 
Lloyd's Building in London 
SLIA JOURNAL VOL 103-NO.02 
31 
tried to create a quality that not only 
contributes to the enhancement of 
the city, but also maintains Lloyd's 
position at the centre of the world's 
insurance. 
All these buildings try not to be gim?
 micks of technology, but to facilitate 
habitable spaces while achieving the 
specific function. There are ample 
compelling precedents around us 
that demonstrate how technology 
can be used for its funct iona l 
purposes, as much as for aesthetic 
and symbolic purposes. Indeed, they 
could be used as tools' to create 
architecture intell igently and to 
advance the nature of architecture. 
It is now possible to move away from 
the notion of using only the available 
technology in creating architecture 
and to seek ways of liberating itself 
from the imprisonment to available 
materials'. 
If architecture should be allowed to 
emerge intuitively, then technology 
should be allowed to manifest cre?
 atively for the generation of intuitive 
excitement and indeed creative im?
 pulses. It is only then that we would 
be able to employ the emerging 
abundance of technologies to ad?
 vance the practice of architecture. 
Opera House - Sydney, the huge 
shell structure designed by J. 
Utzon, is set on a spectacular site 
in Sydney harbour. It is skirted on 
three sides by water and ap?
 proached landward. The complex 
stands on a massive podium, which 
rests partly on a sandstone bedrock 
at water level and partly on some 
550 piers, sunk to 40 feet below sea 
level in some places. The tallest of 
the concrete roof rise to 221 feet 
above sea level reflects how tech?
 nology was used to create lightness 
in concrete using thin shell con?
 struction. This is known to be a huge 
sea bird and also known to repre?
 sent the hulls of countless sunken 
ships. This building structure adds 
an enchanting sculptural ornament 
to the Sydney's waterfront. 
Opera House - Sydney 
Recently advanced the so called, 
' Light Structures' are special struc?
 tures not only because of their light?
 ness but also because it is in 
constrast to 'ordinary' structures, 
where structural elements are usu?
 ally hidden behind finishing compo?
 nents. The textures and forms are 
considered more comfortable to the 
human eye and tactile senses where 
the structure itself being clearly vis?
 ible, and, becomes the architecture 
of space and form. 
The fabric tent structure of Denver 
International Airport designed by 
Hoist Berger Associates is one of 
the best-known buildings in the world 
in regard of light-structures. The de?
 sign relates to the most basic of ten?
 sile structural form: the tent. Rising 
out of the vast plains, the high peaks 
and valleys, the 100 feet long tent 
structure echoes the shapes of the 
powerful Denver mountains in the dis?
 tance behind. 
Independence Mall Pavilion -
 Philadelphia designed by Barry 
Eisworth is a search for an inex?
 pensive method that has the tempo?
 rary quality and ability to erect fast, 
in providing a festive flair for the bi?
 centennial celebrations in Philadel?
 phia. 
King Fadh Stadium - Riyadh, 
Saudi Arabia designed by Geiger 
Associates was said to be guided 
by the discipline of structure order 
that searched clarity, simplicity, 
eliminating the superfluous, while 
emphasizing what was there. In spite 
of its huge scale, the space under 
this roof has a sense of intimacy not 
commonly found in large spectator 
facilities. 
As Peir Luigi Nevi has once com?
 mented, "The equilibrium and har?
 mony that reign over technology, 
the objectivity that one is forced 
to assume in its presence, the 
modesty that its unplumbed mys?
 teries demand of us constitute 
such an elegant lesson that it can?
 not but have profound repercus?
 sions on all intellectual and moral 
manifestations and even on life of 
society". 
Denver International Airport 
Indipendence Mall Pavilion -
 Philadelphia 
King Fahd Stadium - Riyadh, 
Saudi Arabia 
References 
Airupetov. D. (1986) Architectural 
Materials Science. Mir Publishers Moscow 
Anton iades , Anthony C. (1981) 
Architecture & Allied Design: An 
Environmental esign Perspective. Kendall/ 
Hunt publishing company. U.S.A. 
Berger, Hoist (1996). Light Structures oj 
Light. Birkhasueer- Switzerland 
Davies , Coljn (1988) . High Tech 
Architecture, Thames and Hudson. West 
Germany 
Rapoport.Amos. (1969) flou.se Form and 
Culture. Prentice hall inc.. London 
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