Bridging the Digital Divide:

Transcription

1 Bridging the Digital Divide: Redefining the Concept of Sustainable Development for the Information Age A presentation by: Marco Macagnano Phd Pr. Arch marco.m@bentel.net Bentel Associates International

2 The problem and its setting What is the Goal: Sustainable Development UN Brundlandt Report, 1972: The ability of an environment to meet the needs of current and future generations. The Triple Bottom Line

3 Since sustainability was coined as a concept, the world has changed

4 The Digital Revolution Unimagined access to information Economic, social and cultural change through transformed communication technologies and processes We are immersed in a digital economy Pervasive and ubiquitous Information and Communication technologies ICT is the enabler

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6 The Digital Divide

7 The Digital Divide

8 Is the answer in ICTs? Technological Redundancy. Cellphones last 3 years but our buildings last 30 How are we empowered by technology?

9 Digital Technologies Access to Information Actionable Information Empowered Decision-making

10 The emergence of the knowledge-based society Knowledge transfer and preservation is the cornerstone to intergenerational equity people-centred, inclusive and development oriented information societies, where everyone can achieve their full potential in promoting sustainable development and improving their quality of life (World Summit of the Information Society, 2003) The Digital Divide is a barrier to knowledge

11 Tacit Explicit The goal is not technology, the goal is equity

12 Enabling the Knowledge-Based Society Shaped through interrogation of key criteria environment applicable to the context of implementation economy human SD need society knowledge

13 Revised Model for Sustainable Development in the Information Age

14 What kind of world are we inheriting?

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16 Absence of knowledge integration increases the threat of AI and process automation

17 Implications on product and process

18 Implications on architectural product and process Digital emersion is as integral to our everyday lives as the roofs over our heads. Architecture and the built-environment no longer have the monopoly on shaping human-experience or guiding cultural interaction. Retroactive upgrading of our builtenvironments applying digital technologies to function better in spite of our buildings instead of because of them.

19 Implications on architectural product and process The Rise and Rise of Mobile Technology

20 Ushering in a future of convenience, centred around the individual

21 The number of tasks that can currently be executed primarily on a mobile phone

22 Mobile technology requires data. What are the implications on infrastructure? Percentage of households reliant solely on wireless data Wireless data usage based on income group

23 Where is the smart city taking us? Digital overlay of a city. Pervasive systems in place to create an interconnected digital and physical environment to enable smart-city living

24 Implications on architectural product and process The Rise and Rise of Wearable Technology (Augmented and Mixed Realities)

25 Mainstream augmented reality. Digital immersion shapes our environments to our specific wants and needs. Microsoft Hololens featured above

26 Architecture disappears into the background of an information based environment Microsoft Hololens featured above

27 Environments are experienced as a matter of perception. Solid state structure is replaced with fluid and flexible digital worlds. Microsoft Hololens featured above

28 Immersive learning becomes standard

29 Ubiquitous computing interacts with the physical city to create an information-based experience.

30 1. Are our cities part of the solution? 2. Where is the Architect / Urban Planner / Built Environment Professional in all of this?

31 Implications on product and process How: Custodians of the entire process: solutions not products Definition of appropriate sustainability criteria for the built environment Integration with information-based systems design: Building Information Modelling (BIM) Building lifecycle 5D Construction Embrace future flexibility form, function, infrastructure a building use might change, or might even become completely obsolete. Green or smart building does not necessitate its existence.

32 The goal is not to produce products, the goal is to produce integrated and sustainable systems.

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34 Implications on product and process We embed information into everything we do. Humans are constantly plugged in. Our buildings are designed based on information modelling. Building management systems operate and monitor buildings on continuous feedback loop cycles. Yet we still insist on designing to a fixed moment in time with little to no consideration for what happens outside of our site boundaries.

35 A digitally connected world in design means that we can consider the impact of a project on its broader context

36 And also allows us to consider and respond to the individual flexibly, fluidly, and continuously

37 Our buildings need to plug-in to the digital context. The built environment must have a role as digital information enabler. The future sustainable environment requires recognition that the physical world is complemented by the digital world total systems integration The role of municipalities should therefore evolve from that of a fixedpoint approval of design, to that of constant oversight to include the digital landscape as a means to interrogate and better our physical environments. Information sharing in a knowledge-based society is key.

38 Quality of life The standard unit of measurement for successful built environments Digital connection Enabled through ubiquitous, knowledge-based interaction and enabling environments

39 The creation of a digital city, in unison with the physical. BIM-based avatars that are able to communicate in real time with a smart-city central management system to make real-world decisions. Neighbourhoods can be evaluated via quantifiable data such as building occupancy, economic activity, user comfort, happiness, etc.

40 Conclusion The future of sustainable built environments is therefore not achieved through isolation of approach. It requires an integrated systems-design approach. It is required to recognise that the job is not done when construction is complete, but rather that a building (and its stakeholders) remains a contributor to the greater sustainable context.

41 If we desire to change the world for the better, we must be willing to change with it.

42 Thank you A presentation by: Marco Macagnano PhD Pr. Arch marco.m@bentel.net Bentel Associates International