Global/Local

There are so many different factors affecting architecture globally such as climate, geological conditions, locally distinct speciation of plants and animals, and the geographical differences of human cultures and histories. Many architects and designers have to design and build around some of these conditions.
Things such as global communication networks, global trade, multinational corporations, mass production and industrialization, consumer culture around the world, widespread global access to materials and resources, international trade and construction standards, and internationally applicable building codes lead us into globalization. Because of our fast paced, technology world, we can build with knowledge that generations before us didn't have. This I believe is helpful but also hinders our environment because we are always thinking of the newest piece of technology to fix our problems when in reality that may create more. We can't just think globally though, we have to think locally as well when we design. If there are some materials and tools that can be made locally, support it. Global and local can go hand in hand.

Technology and Architecture

Today there are some many different technologies such as cell phones, computers, ipods, etc. Even when you are at the store there are different technologies there such as the cash register. Everything seems to be run by technology. Today for one of my projects, I had to cut on the cnc router down on south campus. In the old days of architecture and design, you had to cut everything by hand. This time I got to put a file in a machine and it did all the cutting for me.
One thing has always stumped me though. What happens if our technology went away? How would we react and what would we do? Would we still be able to function on a day to day basis? At your house your food would go bad, you wouldn't be able to heat anything up, and you would have no electricity. Could we really live without technology?
Technology in architecture has been so helpful and useful but i think we have lost the touch of hand drawings and actually working with our hands to put things together... not making a computer do it for us. Also I think architecture and technology goes great together cause it allows us to explore different options of building our projects. All in all, technology like anything else has its ups and its downs.