CHAPTER 1 TOPICS
• Hardware: Integration Among Building Systems
• Software: Integration in the Design Process
• Philosophical Digression: Integration and the Progress of Technology
• Framework of Discussion
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iscussion about the architecture of integrated buildings systems begins with a few basic questions. These fundamental questions underlie the four “methods” chapters of Part I. The seven succeeding chapters of Part II explore how these questions relate to several works of architecture. Taken as a whole, then, this book shows how case studies can be used to understand the integration of building systems and how inquiry into integration contributes to architectural success.
• What are integrated buildings?
• How does design for integration impact architectural thinking?
• Is integration the architect’s responsibility?
• How does the notion of “building system” tie in with the idea of “systems thinking”?
• What benefits does integration provide?
Hardware: Integration Among Building Systems
In theory, it is entirely possible to design and construct a building made of totally independent components. The separate pieces of such a building could be designed in isolation, each part having an autonomous role to play. Someone who proposes this idea may note that a beam is a beam and a duct is a duct, after all, and there is no need to confuse one for the other. For every function or role to be performed in a building, there are a host of competing and individualized products to choose from. As long as the final assembly has already been worked out, the independent pieces can fulfill their single-purpose roles simply by fitting in place and not interfering with other pieces.
Most architects would quickly denounce this isolationist approach to design. Where, they would ask, is the harmony, the beauty, or even the practicality in such an
absurdly fragmented method? Surely there is some sympathy and order among the parts that lead to a comprehensive whole?
Architects are, in fact, inherently prone to take exactly the opposite approach: Starting with carefully considered ideas about the complete and constructed building, they would then explore inward, working through intricate relationships between all the parts and functions. But how far does this concern for relationships go, and how inclusive is the complete idea? Equally important, what sort of thinking is required to comprehend and resolve all the issues that arise in the process? This is where the topic and discipline of integration fits in—providing an explicit framework for selecting and combining building components in purposeful and intentional ways.
Integration among the hardware components of building systems is approached with three distinct goals: Components have to share space, their arrangement has to be aesthetically resolved, and at some level, they have to work together or at least not defeat each other. These three goals are physical, visual, and performance integration. The following sections serve as a brief overview of how these goals are attained.