Review of The Future of Buildings, Transportation and Power
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Sanaz Esfahani
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- Latest Review: The Future of Buildings, Transportation and Power by Roger Duncan and Michael E. Webber
Review of The Future of Buildings, Transportation and Power
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Future of Buildings, Transportation and Power" by Roger Duncan and Michael E. Webber.]
The Future of Buildings, Transportation and Power by Roger Duncan and Michael E. Webber is a comprehensive introduction and analysis of the megatrends in building construction, transportation and energy domain. It is focused on the current trends with an eye on sustainability and environment concerns and predicts different scenarios which may be adapted in close and far future.
In the first chapter regarding the concept of greater conversion efficiency megatrend, some consequences are introduced: The ultimate goal of reduction of material, energy conversion, motion and, time in all of the sectors. Sentient appearing machines which will lead to integration of all sectors. Different change rates in the technology of different sectors and fallacy of exponential growth in technology as a general term is discussed.
Building construction megatrends introduced in the book are mainly around new material, wider functionality for buildings such as units of energy generation and urban gardens as a source of food, and smart assistants interacting with their inhabitants and the world around them. Construction technologies such as 3D printing, and IA, self-repair, autonomous relocation are also introduced with real world examples of pipeline or already launched projects. The image of a building more than a living place but a smart analyzer and assistant is made through tangible examples.
Similar trend is predicted for transportation as it will become autonomous, more sustainable, electric. Although the scenario of transition to a 100 percent green transportation and current limitations ahead are explained to give a realistic overview of the possibilities and pace of change. Same analysis is done for transition to autonomous and self-driving vehicles is done. Some conceptual ideas such as extraplanetary travel are also introduced as far future possible transportation solutions. Decentralization of power generation and termination from central power plants to distributed small power generation units is emphasized and appearance of new main power consumption sources such as indoor agriculture and home data centers and servers is discussed, explaining new required business models in the energy sector.
One of the most interesting discussions in the book is criticizing of the idea of possibility of defining a “silver bullet” solution in the energy domain to achieve zero emission. Using examples of different possible reginal solutions leads to the idea of “custom buckshot” according to the requirements of each region beside development of an intercontinental grid.
This book can be interesting and worthy to read for almost everyone interested in the future trends. I rate it 3 out of 4. The content in easy to understand although some parts of the structure may seem sloppy. The book does not give an absolute image of the future, but rich and divers examples of possible scenarios will give a sense of getting well informed about the relevant innovative solutions from a realistic point of view.
******
The Future of Buildings, Transportation and Power
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
The Future of Buildings, Transportation and Power by Roger Duncan and Michael E. Webber is a comprehensive introduction and analysis of the megatrends in building construction, transportation and energy domain. It is focused on the current trends with an eye on sustainability and environment concerns and predicts different scenarios which may be adapted in close and far future.
In the first chapter regarding the concept of greater conversion efficiency megatrend, some consequences are introduced: The ultimate goal of reduction of material, energy conversion, motion and, time in all of the sectors. Sentient appearing machines which will lead to integration of all sectors. Different change rates in the technology of different sectors and fallacy of exponential growth in technology as a general term is discussed.
Building construction megatrends introduced in the book are mainly around new material, wider functionality for buildings such as units of energy generation and urban gardens as a source of food, and smart assistants interacting with their inhabitants and the world around them. Construction technologies such as 3D printing, and IA, self-repair, autonomous relocation are also introduced with real world examples of pipeline or already launched projects. The image of a building more than a living place but a smart analyzer and assistant is made through tangible examples.
Similar trend is predicted for transportation as it will become autonomous, more sustainable, electric. Although the scenario of transition to a 100 percent green transportation and current limitations ahead are explained to give a realistic overview of the possibilities and pace of change. Same analysis is done for transition to autonomous and self-driving vehicles is done. Some conceptual ideas such as extraplanetary travel are also introduced as far future possible transportation solutions. Decentralization of power generation and termination from central power plants to distributed small power generation units is emphasized and appearance of new main power consumption sources such as indoor agriculture and home data centers and servers is discussed, explaining new required business models in the energy sector.
One of the most interesting discussions in the book is criticizing of the idea of possibility of defining a “silver bullet” solution in the energy domain to achieve zero emission. Using examples of different possible reginal solutions leads to the idea of “custom buckshot” according to the requirements of each region beside development of an intercontinental grid.
This book can be interesting and worthy to read for almost everyone interested in the future trends. I rate it 3 out of 4. The content in easy to understand although some parts of the structure may seem sloppy. The book does not give an absolute image of the future, but rich and divers examples of possible scenarios will give a sense of getting well informed about the relevant innovative solutions from a realistic point of view.
******
The Future of Buildings, Transportation and Power
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
