2016 was an exciting year for architecture trends. While we still haven’t started travelling to space – though we are a step closer thanks to a successful rocket launch and landing SpaceX accomplished earlier this year – technology has been significantly impacting the way we inhabit cities.

Designers have been experimenting with innovative, intelligent building materials, car manufacturers are rolling out self-driving models, and urban infrastructure is relying more on connectivity to optimize everything, from commuting to working. Many among these are long-term architecture trends that have had breakthroughs in the last year, which promise to continue into 2017.

Here are the 7 most significant architecture trends affecting the built environment that will shape the upcoming year.

#1 – Urban Connectivity

Connectivity extends far beyond Internet access. In fact, several companies across the globe are currently working on integrating tech products into urban environments in order to improve transportation, social services, health and public spaces. We have already written about Sidewalk Labs, a “smart-city” company owned by Alphabet Inc., which creates digital products through public-private partnerships to provide ubiquitous connectivity, real-time sensors, precise location services, distributed trust, autonomous systems, and digital actuation and fabrication.

Several incubators targeting urban environments are creating funding opportunities for companies that greatly influence how we live, work and commute. Y Combinator already funded companies like reputable Airbnb, among others, while Impact Engine supports early-stage, tech-focused businesses that change neighborhoods and urban conditions in the Chicago area.

#2 – Autonomous Transportation

Self-driving vehicles are promising to revolutionize the transport industry, which will greatly impact the built environment. Car manufacturers are rolling out models that are already hitting city streets. Last August, Singapore has become the first country in the world to launch a self-driving taxi service, beating Uber by a few days to public road tests. US-based start-up called nuTonomy received permission from the Singapore government to test self-driving cars and start testing with passengers.

Last December, Uber brought a small number of self-driving Volvo luxury SUVs to San Francisco. Another interesting trend – drones – is getting into the transportation race. Chinese drone manufacturer Ehang has created a vehicle capable of autonomously transporting human passengers and their luggage. Aerial drone delivery companies like Flirtey and Matternet are also developing solutions for air traffic. It will be interesting to see what 2017 brings for autonomous transportation.

#3 – Space Sharing

The sharing economy is expanding to include an increasing number of industries. WeWork has come to the forefront of the “space as a service” trend as one of the fastest growing consumers of office space, transforming a real estate business. The company has recently begun testing its first residential offering – WeLive, which brings a “co-living” philosophy into the world of residential real estate. WeLive links tenants with living areas that share kitchens and bathrooms. According to company documents – as Nasdaq reports – WeLive is expected to bring in about 21% of the company’s total revenue by 2018.

Last December, Airbnb has started investing in Home Sharing Clubs – host-led local organizations – around the world, closing out 2016 with 112. The emergence of Club-like organizations is an important trend to watch in 2017.

#4 – AR/VR

Augmented reality and virtual reality are being used in architectural design and real estate with increased frequency. Architecture studios are embracing VR as a way to optimize communication with clients and speed up the design process. This trend is expected to grow in 2017, with firms like NBBJ developing new, immersive solutions. NBBJ has already developed a self-contained venture Visual Vocal to built a VR platform integrated into the firm’s design process. Computing chipmaker NVIDIA conceived a VR demonstration of the completed building powered by NVIDIA products. The VR headset allows Gensler designers to navigate the model of the structure and notice design flaws that could be easily missed in a 2D environment.

According to digi-capital, the virtual and augmented reality industries will be worth $150 billion dollars by 2020. Virtual home experiences are expected to dominate 2017, and can potentially get into architecture schools.

#5 – Entrepreneurship in Architectural Education

Speaking of schools, entrepreneurship seems to be increasingly taught to architecture students. Architecture schools across the world are starting to offer bachelor and master programs in entrepreneurship and real estate development.

The Parsons School of Design offers an undergraduate minor in creative entrepreneurship, while a Penn State-sponsored business accelerator program aims to help student entrepreneurs turn their innovative project into reality. Canada’s Ryerson encourages its students to participate in a variety of projects that allow them to gain skills in architecture that are not taught in class.

The School of Architecture and Planning (SA+P), one of five schools at MIT, launched an entrepreneurship accelerator, DesignX, which allows students to “make the critical leap from project to startup”. DesignX will include a four-month, for-credit accelerator workshop through which participants will get a chance to pitch to outside investors and industry partners.

#6 – Material Innovation

The Multiscale Materials Laboratory at Rice University is working on developing what they call “programmable cement” which can allow designers to control the kinetics of cement to get desired shapes, the morphology and size of the basic building blocks of C-S-H. This way they can self-assemble into microstructures with far greater packing density compared with conventional amorphous C-S-H microstructures.

Another common material that is gaining momentum is timber. Architects are increasingly using this rapidly renewable, carbon sequestering material that environmentally outperforms concrete and steel. In 2016, PLP Architecture and researchers from the University of Cambridge have revealed a concept for London’s first wooden skyscraper, architect Michael Green completed the largest mass-timber building in the United States – a seven-story tower in Minneapolis called T3.

Companies like Solar Roadways and Wattway are developing solar-harvesting road surfaces, while power-generating textiles are being experimented on at the Georgia Institute of Technology. This fabric harvests energy from solar and kinetic sources and is highly flexible, lightweight and consists of widely available, environmentally friendly materials.

 #7 – Sustainability

From energy to transportation and architecture, industries are steadily moving towards sustainable practices. 3D printed buildings, like the world’s first 3D printed office in Dubai, also influence the costs and environmental impact of the AEC industry. Cities are moving toward clean energy and a green economy.

After completing the Vertical Forest tower in Milan, Italy, architect Stefano Boeri has recently announced a similar design to be developed in China. This will be the first project of its kind in Asia.

Malaysia’s Forest City is set to become Southeast Asia’s largest mixed-use green development. Sasaki Associates designed the $40.9 billion master plan as an ecosystem that mimics the natural coastal ecologies of the region.

Urban Renewal and farming Projects are also a path to more sustainable cities. Some of the largest are The Los Angeles River Revitalization, Green Square – Australia’s biggest urban renewal project – while the Chinese megacity of Shanghai is set to realize the Sunqiao Urban Agricultural District.

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Over the last two decades, the construction industry has been subject to dramatic changes, paving the way for a future in which traditional spatial concepts are longer valid. Now, compost is being used for building materials, crowdfunding and collaborative design have become increasingly popular approaches to architectural projects, there is a focus on the importance of green infrastructure and energy efficiency, and the line between private and public space is becoming increasingly blurred. These new approaches are foreshadowing the ways in which our urban environment will evolve over the next few decades. Here’s a rundown of the new trends that have already started to affect the way we build:

#1 – No More ‘Public vs. Private’ Space

An increasing number of buildings not only address the needs of its users by function but also aim to incorporate public and commercial amenities. Architects are becoming aware of the need for creating inclusive spaces that share the same palpable values as their neighborhoods and the general public.

With the emergence of new technologies, it has become possible to design large developments as micro-cities that offer a range of diverse services (think Google, Facebook and Linkedin headquarters). Private buildings often include recycling and composting facilities and other public domain functions.

Excess energy that has been generated by private residences, offices and other buildings is now often fed into the public power grid. As Adriana Seserin writes in her article “The Publicly Private And The Privately Public”, “The dichotomy of public vs. private is limping in its ability to describe the complexity of today’s society.”

#2 – Design Will Become More Collaborative

Architecture as we know it is likely to disappear and, in the future, the role of architects may be very different to how we recognize it today. Specialists in, for example, environmental science and social anthropology will become active team members in design studios, working on complex projects that require knowledge in different fields.

It is reasonable to expect that the emergence of specialists from various fields will eliminate many of the job profiles currently existing in the construction industry. “Small ‘design-led’ practices will face increasingly stiff competition from multidisciplinary giants and must become more business savvy in order to survive in the future,” claims a 2011 RIBA report.

The rule of starchitects is likely to come to an end, as both private and public clients are starting to expect much more than iconic spaces and structures. Interaction, inclusiveness, easy maintenance and energy efficiency are getting priority over extravagance for extravagance’s sake.

#3 – Internet of Things Becomes Internet of Spaces

The “sharing economy” (or, “collaborative consumption”) has had the greatest impact on the housing and real estate market. Peer-to-peer online platforms like AirBnB, as well as shared workspaces and driverless cars are paving the way towards a future in which infrastructure is the dominant aspect of the built environment.

Regarding residential architecture, the concepts of interconnectivity and smart design will redefine the way living spaces are created. Transformable spaces that adapt to the homeowner’s age, economic status and personal preference are well on their way to becoming mainstream.

#4 – Buildings Will Be Funded by the Many

The concept of  is radically changing the way projects are financed. Since it was first introduced, Kickstarter has funneled more than $66 million into a varied number of projects, from food through movies to technology. Architectural projects, including Lowline and the BD Bacata Tower, have also made use of crowdfunding to advance their plans.

Certain areas of the construction industry – standardized designs and prototype housing, chain stores and retail office buildings, and schools – could see more competitive bidding in getting their plans funded, while more complex structures requiring unique designs such as stadiums, power plants, bridges, museums and medical buildings are less likely to be built through an open-bid approach.

#5 – Going Tall, Small and Temporary

Breaking the pattern of the urban sprawl we’ve seen over the last century, the new trend of building super-tall structures will make cities grow upwards rather than outwards. These tall buildings combine living, playing, shopping and working in one area and are made possible thanks to the advances in material technology, like electronic glass panels. As developments in technology change the size of our gadgets, so too may these developments also affect the size of our living spaces.

This change would be made through modular design, which has increasingly been used in different building typologies. Additionally, many architects are now recognizing that the shorter a building’s lifespan is, the more sustainable it can be. Therefore, ‘prefab’ houses that are easily replaced could be the future of architecture.

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The recent phenomenon of technology altering the physical world and permeating every aspect of our daily lives is symptomatic of a larger social and cultural shift. The way buildings are financed, designed, built, used and removed continuously changes architectural discourse and introduces an entirely new vocabulary into the construction industry. We are excited to see how it will all pan out in the coming years.

What do you think the future of architecture will look like?

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