Abstract
In his paper, ‘Ditching the dinosaur sanctuary’ (Architectural Design, August 1969), the author brought architects’ attention to the computerized, flexible production machinery then being introduced into the machine tool and other industries. Similar production technology, the author had argued, could in principle be used to revolutionize the building industry, doing away with the need for standardization, and negating many of the ideological assumptions underlying the industrialized building movement.
The author reviews his original prognosis in the light of changes in architectural theory and practise in the intervening period, and recent advances in building technology. The application of computerized machinery in the production of components for the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank headquarters is described as a major breakthrough in, purpose-made industrialized building. The use of such ‘smart’ tools, it is claimed, heralds a new union of craft and industry.
The author concludes, nevertheless, that the potential of the new building technology may not be fulfilled unless parallel changes are undertaken in architectural practise and education, bringing both more into line with practises in industrial design.
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Notes
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Auguste Prouve, UIA Symposium address, Delft, 6–17 September 1964, reproduced in: Towards Industrialized Building — Proceedings of the Third CIB Congress, Copenhagen, 1965, Elsevier, 1966.
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Chris Abel, ‘Toward the cybernetic factory’, Science Journal, October 1968.
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Chris Abel, ‘A building for the Pacific century’, Architectural Review, April 1986.
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Seishi Suzuki, Tetsuji Yoshida, Takatoshi Veno, ‘Construction robots in Japan’, paper at The Second Century of the Skyscraper, Third International Conference of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, Chicago, 6–10 January, 1986.
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© 1986 Hermes Publishing
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Abel, C. (1986). Ditching the Dinosaur Sanctuary: Seventeen Years On. In: CAD and Robotics in Architecture and Construction. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-7404-6_12
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-7404-6_12
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