Integrated building technologies as a design tool for inclusive and sustainable architecture

Integrated and digital technologies are employed to optimise comfort, performance and control in architec- tural, urban and landscape design. Their aim is to repeat themselves eliminating instability, guaranteeing a de- signed and expected outcome. The research investigates the possibility of intentional dysfunctions in the applica- tion of these technologies in design as a critical practice; doorbells ringing at night, glitchy Smart Home devices, black sun therapy lamp: a fragmented shift can render technologic solutions within the sphere of unease and un- settling conditions of space. Extending to contemporary contingencies the imaginary of the architectural uncanny and other space distress investigations, the research in- vestigates the unhomely interaction between the human body and space driven by technologies and digital devic- es. To generate a critical platform for design, the cultural framework of the thesis defines a domain to incorporate technology dysfunctions into architectural practice. By ex- amining how technological systems, rather than eliminat- ing instability, can generate spatial conditions marked by ambiguity, unease, and tension, is established a platform for an experimental architectural language. Focusing on distortions, failures, and anomalies in built environments, the research proposes a critical framework in which dys- functions become an operative realm for design practice.