by Arthur Casas

When Steve Jobs announced the arrival of the iPhone to the world in 2007, it crowned the era of hardware sovereignty. At that time, the design of the equipment was decisive for everything that would follow, creating the gateway through which the internet would permeate every moment of our lives.

From the cell phone, the global network started to inhabit the systems of automobiles, televisions, sound equipment and home automation. In a short time, the reign of hardware became the primacy of software. The apps have driven changes in consumption, work, commuting and countless everyday activities. Next year, we will see the culmination of the reign of software: 2022 marks the arrival of 5G in Brazil and the intensification of the use of technology as a service.

The internet of things, which connects practically everything that exists, becomes a reality. The new networks will offer a connection speed of about twenty times the current one, allowing the creation of real-time applications and immediate responses. Objects will pick up demands and react to them automatically, without human interference.

If the refrigerator notices that the eggs are running out, it will send an order for more eggs to the market. If the curtain identifies that the sun is shining brightly outside, it will close without needing to be activated. Sensors will be able to identify the human presence in environments to optimize the use of air conditioning and artificial lighting. Appliances, automobiles, gadgets and services will all be interconnected and controlled by cell phones.

This is a unique opportunity for architecture to stand as a blank canvas on which all these systems can reach their full potential. Comfort will be the rule, with various equipment constantly adapting to climate variations to ensure the best lighting and ventilation conditions – also ensuring better energy efficiency for the sake of sustainability. Irrigation, cleaning and automated inspections will create new maintenance parameters.

In this new scenario, buildings can be seen as shared objects, whose success will depend much more on the quality of services offered (software) than on the building itself (hardware). Does this mean that architecture will lose relevance? On the contrary. It will be the common thread, the link between all services, connecting hyper connected objects to a network of possibilities capable of meeting the needs of use in each space.

Architecture and design have always placed the user as the starting point and central axis for the development of environments or pieces of furniture. It’s time to go to the extreme of this idea, making the entire domestic and urban ecosystem also serve the best user experience. Real-time and personalization are no longer differentiators and are prerequisites. No one better than architects and designers to translate these concepts into functionality, creating almost imperceptible facilities, but which make all the difference for us to reach new paradigms of well-being and efficiency.