Hybrid, Masonry, Concrete, Timber, Steel

BUK ETHZ Hybrid Masonry Timber Concrete Steel

Birkhäuser

K.118, End Struc8400 Winterthur

Hybrid 1

K.118, End Structure, Hall 118 Lagerplatz 24

baubüro in situ

Steel 1 Herbstweg 6

Graser Troxler Architekten Architekten

Lea Götschi

“Circular Economy” Housing Herbstweg 6

Graser Troxler Arc hitekten

A Plan for the Future

When we make a plan, we are putting the future on paper. We sit ourselves down, start the work, come up with timelines and milestones, and then make sure that everything runs according to plan. But the longer the period covered by the plan, the less will go according to plan. Unfortunately. But also luckily. Here is why:

THE FUTURE FROM YESTERDAY Technological and cultural development cycles have become shorter. What we are told today is the future, is tomorrow ordinary at best, or already out of date: smart fridges, smart homes—smart homes straight from a 3D printer. It seems as though the world is turning faster. And it is! New ideas appear and disappear again with lightning speed. Change is all around us, apart from in our brain stems, which remain prehistoric. And if that wasn't enough, we now have to deal with AI as well! Therefore, we always lag behind developments, which we indeed take in but cannot fully digest—neither as individuals nor as a society. So how do we plan the future if we have not yet even made it into

THE PERFECT PLAN

Let me tell you right away: There isn’t one. Nothing can be planned down to the last detail. Nobody can plan everything, because nobody knows everything. And certainly no one knows what the future will bring. Because reality isn’t a plan, instead it’s a complex system. Material, economic, social and environmental systems—they all influence one another. We want densification, so we chop down old trees, but then from behind our huge panorama windows moan about the lack of shade against the blazing sun, lack of privacy from prying eyes.

To ensure that our plan works, we have to think and plan with systems in mind—generalists and specialists together. With vision and unconventional approaches: Construction plans only when they include deconstruction plans? Buildings as material banks? Blockchain concrete?

PLANNING = PRIORITIZING

Many factors have to be considered when planning: known, unknown and competing factors. For example: economic and/or sustainable building. What is the best plan? Timing is the crucial element. An unprofitable plan in the short term might