Digital technology is getting bigger and faster. If economics and architecture co-evolve, how will technology affect the future of architecture and design? If e-commerce and m-commerce were already big, autonomous commerce (a-commerce) –powered by artificial intelligence, blockchain, and the Internet of Things– could prove even bigger. Technology is the strongest and fastest driver of the changes affecting the relatively permanent foundations of furniture, fixtures, and floor plans, not just innovations integral to buildings themselves. Designer and architects need to think of fast, fleeting, personal technology to keep up with the changing times
Architecture deals with the boundaries between spaces that define interior and exterior, open and closed which act as membranes. Where a-commerce meets architecture, a transaction membrane will act as the layer that admits or excludes commerce in the form of goods, people, energy, and other exchanges of value
This transaction membrane will address social and environmental issues such as the distribution of household labor, the optimization of food distribution and waste, and the integration of living, working, and shopping spaces to free our time for the enjoyment of life. Architects and designers must incorporate this new commerce paradigm from the personal to a planetary scale
The ‘smart space’ is measured by its ability to connect to the internet and send and receive data, which, in communicating with other devices, form an Internet of Things (IoT). This data helps us adapt to our environment, reduce energy consumption, and improve our health. The IoT is an expensive venture that consumes a massive amount of energy. We must, therefore, ask ourselves whether the collective energy savings of IoT-enabled smart homes and spaces balance out the energy used in data centers to operate them. If we want to fully harness the power of IoT technologies for our health and that of the planet, we need to take into account all of the components that make the cloud run, even the ones hidden from the public eye.
A-commerce and IoT are advancements in technology that have a great impact on the future of architecture and design. It is therefore crucial that innovation and technology go hand in hand with every design concept to embrace the constant changes the future of design holds
