smart buildings

For such an ominous sounding place as the Forbidden City, the buildings sure are cordial. This is one of my favorite translations I came upon while traveling in China. Smart building. It seems that a building that can fix itself makes a great deal of sense…Or at least solve problems before they become dangerous or simply inefficient… detect ice and melt it, detect rain and release soap, detect fire and contain it, etc. I don’t know if nano-robots that maintain and repair our buildings will prove possible or self generating materials such as crystals will patch mortar and bricks from water, but it seems increasingly probable that humans will spend less time cleaning and fixing. I can only hope that buildings that renovate themselves are as polite as the one I saw in Beijing.