This review focuses on the research paper ‘Architectural Innovation: The Reconfiguration of Existing Product Technologies and the Failure of Established Firms’ (Henderson and Clark, 1990). Radical and incremental innovations have long been the corner stone of which firms base their knowledge of technological innovations. However, the research paper serves to shed light on one of the less evident forms of innovation – Architectural Innovation. Architectural innovations are, as defined by Henderson and Clark, an innovation that change the way in which components of a product are linked together, while leaving the core design concepts untouched (Pg. 1, Para 5). In other words, architectural innovation destroys the usefulness of a firm’s architectural knowledge, but preserves the usefulness of its knowledge about individual product components. The paper argues that the inability of firms to identify and recognise new interactions between components has serious competitive consequences. The argument is exemplified in the photolithographic industry, where one after another, firms lost thei...
During his absence, with John Sculley in power, the focus shifted to maximization of profit, and product design suffered. Steve Jobs theorized that is was one of the reasons companies decline. “My passion has been to build an enduring company where people… make great products… the products, not the profits, were the motivation. It’s a subtle difference, but it ends up meaning everything”.
Technological -The knowledge explosion has introduced new technology for nearly every business function. As we enter a technology based century, the technology used in every organizations operation is increasingly turbulent, rocked by forces such as competition and customer demands. The technological element tends to develop through periods of incremental change punctuated by technological breakthroughs that either improve or destroy the ability of firms in an industry. It is the current state of knowledge about the production of goods and services in an industry.
Schumpeter’s view of competition is that companies’ innovation is continuously destructive to processes and assets. In that respect, new technologies displace the older ones making way for greater growth than in the conservative and stable markets. The authors’ review of the failure by IBM and Microsoft provides a good description of that Schumpeterian competition and diseconomy of scope. In that analysis, the author’s address the question on the causes of creative destruction through which they challenge the view that failure in new technological areas by companies that have been successful in theindustry is explained by two scenarios. One being that the companies fear the cannibalization hence ends up under-investing in the new market. The other explanation challenged is that the companies tend to develop cognitive frameworks and organizational capabilities that slow their identification and response to new opportunit...
What makes modern architecture? Before answering this, one would need to understand what the term “modern” exactly describes. In architecture, modernism is the movement or transition from one period to another, and it is caused by cultural, territorial, and technological changes happening in the world. In Kenneth Frampton’s Modern Architecture: A Critical History, he details these three major societal changes that impact and create modern architecture.
How Breakthroughs Happen is an informational book, written by Andrew Hargadon, which offers insights about different strategies and work practices of groups of firms that have been successful in building lasting facilities for breakthrough innovations. Andrew Hargadon, a professor at University of California-Davis, composed Breakthroughs from his Ph.D. research on technological innovation, and on the information he collected from his engineering employment at IDEO and Apple computer, two highly innovative companies in the market even today. The book discusses the theoretical framework and opens the mind to the innovation process by elaborating on an assortment of strategies for managing innovations in different levels of organizations. Hargadon
The Chinese-American architect Ieoh Ming Pei (I.M) is known as one of the greatest architects of the Twentieth Century. His long, brilliant career was highlighted by several internationally famous structures. While many of Pei’s buildings were generally accepted by the public, some of them precipitated fair amounts of controversy. The most notable of these controversial structures is his Glass Pyramid at the entrance of the Louvre in Paris. For these reasons, I.M. Pei seems to be an architect who exhibits interest in the avant-garde through both the creative design and aestheticism of his architecture.
Adopting the latest technology helps firms to gain advantage in the competitive environment. It is important to adopt new tools in order to improve the quality of work and reduce the risks associated with the work. Implementation of a new process or a tool is often cumbersome for the companies but with proper planning and resources in hand and the zeal to accept innovation, companies grow technically and technologically. In the AEC field, we saw many firms still hand drafting 20 or more years after CAD became the new drafting standard in the mid-1980s. The pressure to switch often came from colleagues and collaborators and became necessary as firms using CAD no longer found it viable to work with firms still hand-drafting (Epstein, 2012). Similar is the case today where the incorporation of BIM is becoming popular amongst the organizations. In order to stay afloat, companies must implement the use of BIM.
Defining ”innovation”could be rather a difficult task as it is a “multi-faceted phenomenon”, and a widely u...
Slater, S. (2005). Successful development and commercialization of technological innovation: Insights based on strategy type. The Journal of Product Innovation Management, 23(1), 26-33. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1540-5885.2005.00178.x/citedby
In the article, “Functionality, Flexibility And Polyvalence,” Herman Herzberger warned that the direct translation of all specific functions into one space results in the fragmentation of the space rather than the a good integration. In his view, flexibility is the “polyvalence of a space.” (Hertzberger, 1991) Aldo Rossi is another architect who appreciated the concept of adaptability, however he related it more at the traditional urban form by criticizing the modern architecture in the name of “naïve functionalism.” Rossi proposed that traditional urban forms are more resilient, more flexible than the modern architecture. Hertzberger shows his concept of flexible space in many of his projects. As an architect who mainly concerned social influence of space and criticized artificial features of modern architecture, he took an attitude to flexible space: ‘’a permanent form allowing polyvalent interpretations without its own changing.’’ This idea about function and form, Hertzberger applied the idea to many of his built projects
...&D capability was not supported by their ability to efficiently produce and market the innovation. Since the R&D is separated from production and sales, it was not market-oriented enough. The limitation of sharing local market knowledge also leads Philips to its inability sell the excellent innovation that R&D has developed. Seeing this as opportunity, Japanese companies able to combine Philips invention with their mass-market production ability and successfully became the leader in the market.
With the interaction between the development of computational approaches in architecture and the contemporary forms of spatial design intelligence, some new architectural design theories emerged to make differences between architects and control designing processes. These theories are almost employed in all designing realms, from architecture to urban design to provide fields of ideas and solutions that privilege by complexity. Most of these theories are oriented to relay on understanding and using computational methods to generate exotic and complex geometries. In this respect, three of these theories will discussed and tested against three buildings. The theories are: parametric design, genetic architecture and emergence, which characterize some of the contemporary architectural design approaches.
Constantly judged and evolving, the practice of architecture is forever plagued by the future. The future of people, of culture, technology and its resulting implications on the built environment that more often than not, outlives their creators. Much of the conversation surrounding this future architecture currently hinges itself on the creation of new experiences, forms and spatial relationships brought about by technological innovation.
I believe nature plays a very important role in architectural design. Nature is simple, organic, and appealing to all. There are set rules in which nature has always followed. Because plants, water, earth, and other natural elements always follow these rules, their natural symmetry and stature are considered attractive. Why would any designer or artist choose to ignore these rules that have been followed by unarguably beautiful artwork? Marc-Antoine Laugier also believes nature is a very important factor when designing architectural structures. Though his beliefs are a little primitive for today’s design techniques and style, I still admire his writings and view on the matter.
As society grows and evolves, technological advancements and innovations continue to develop and consistently change different aspects of our society. For an organization, understanding how to manage these innovations is essential for their proper utilization and implementation. With technological advancements and innovations constantly emerging, it is important for an organization to stay aware of which new technological innovations can help them be successful. Organizations are always looking to set themselves apart from competition through innovation.