Architecture and the Environmental Impact of Artificial Complexity,© Michael Huston

Architecture and the Environmental Impact of Artificial Complexity,Some of the many tricks of the trade that are used to make buildings artificially complex (and less environmentally sustainable, more expensive, and less weathertight). Image © Michael Huston

Architecture and the Environmental Impact of Artificial Complexity,Because of its bold architecture, you might think that this is a library or city hall when, in fact, it is a self-storage building. The design incorporates extraneous fins and projecting and receding volumes that contradict its purpose as a warehouse. Image © Michael Huston

Architecture and the Environmental Impact of Artificial Complexity,Contemporary landscape designers frequently incorporate excess complexity and materials. Left: A recently completed park with crisscrossing sidewalks that go nowhere. Right: A simple treatment of the landscape in a Paris park. Image © Michael Huston

Architecture and the Environmental Impact of Artificial Complexity,Artificial complexity comes in many forms and styles. Image © Michael Huston

Architecture and the Environmental Impact of Artificial Complexity,The contrast between the relative simplicity of the Greek Revival house on the right, built in the mid-19th century, next to the more complex Queen Anne Victorian house on the left, built in the late 19th century, suggests that the rise of artificial complexity may have coincided with the Industrial and Technological Revolutions of the 19th Century. Image © Michael Huston

Architecture and the Environmental Impact of Artificial Complexity,The building on the right has too much complexity at the scale of the facade massing, and too little complexity at the scale of the window, door and balcony. The result looks artificial. Image © Michael Huston

Architecture and the Environmental Impact of Artificial Complexity

Zoom image | View original size

✕

Architecture and the Environmental Impact of Artificial Complexity

Share

Share this image

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Mail

Or

✕