History of Interior Design-Pilar Uribe Donatiu-High-Tech Architecture

High-tech, also known as Late Modernism or Structural Expressionism is an architectural style that began in the seventies. Its name comes from a book published by Joan Kron and Suzanne Slesin in 1978. The book shows many examples where industrial style has a big influence, particularly the industrial materials used in ceilings, floors and walls.

Le Corbusier’s urban development started being monotonous and a change was needed. The movement of making buildings on a very low budget made them very low quality because of the materials used. These neighborhoods turned into high crime rate areas because of their deterioration. After the bad image given to these areas, society asked for a new concept to make the cities progress.

High-tech started as an architectural construction using streamlined industrial processes in order to create natural and flexible environments. However, it evolved to be a so much more complex and defused style. The were concerned about social awareness of energy use, urban planning and environmental awareness. To reach their objectives they would exploit technology and take advantage of the emerging technological advances.

An example of this movement is the Pompidou Centre in Paris. The idea of a revealed structure (because of its transparency) is taken to the extreme, with structural components that serve for nothing as in structure. The use of the steel is only aesthetic in this case.

Another example is the Arab World Institute. It’s an organization founded in Paris in 1980 by 18 Arab countries with France to research and disseminate information about the Arab world and its cultural and spiritual values From an urban point of view the Institute is a hinge between two cultures and two histories. The site is situated at the junction of two urban areas, a traditional (continuous) one and a modern (discontinuous) one. If the south side of the building, with its motorized diaphragms that change shape depending on the intensity of light of every part of the day, is a contemporary expression of eastern culture, the north side is a literal mirror of western culture. The interior designer was François Seigneur, the light designer Licht Design and the landscape designer A.Richert.

In my opinión it’s obvious that one day or another, architecture would have taken advantage of the new emerging technologies to evolve into something that could be able to look like anything but man-made. Architecture should be 24/7 in contact with new materials, new ways of construction, new building techniques and any other advances that could help society créate bigger and better buildings. As in high-tech there is not one written style, it gives a wide range of creative possibilities for anyone who is capable to build, that in the future, could influence the new generations as they got inspired by past movements and learned from their errors.