ABSTRACT
There is a disciplinary convergence upon us, one that spans from the nano-scale to the human-scale. We are now able to program everything from bits to DNA, proteins, cells, proto-cells, new materials, even products, architecture and infrastructure. Programmability and computing are now ubiquitous across scales and disciplines. We need to translate these phenomena into solutions for large-scale and global applications rather than focus on increasingly smaller-scale technologies. This nano-tech trend needs to look towards the built-environment, from manufacturing, construction and infrastructure, to develop more adaptive and highly resilient cities in the future. The key to applying this programmability and computational intelligence is human-scale self-assembly and programmable materials. We have demonstrated that self-assembly is scale-independent and have produced prototypes ranging from 1D, 2D, 3D and even 4D systems aimed at inventing a future of programmable built environments.
