Technological Innovation has three aims. It seeks to:
- examine how new products and processes are developed specifically in or for the building sector,
- discuss the elements constraining their dissemination, and
- lay out a theory of how success can be determined.
By looking at technical change as the result of specific industrial dynamics, the class will clarify how technological innovation in building takes on different meanings depending on context, markets and economic cycles. This type of understanding should inform building actors¿ strategies and government policy.
The objectives embedded in the program can be described as follows:
- Introduce students to product substitution processes and their logics in the construction industry.
- Articulate the impact of `non-building¿ factors over introduction and dissemination of change in building.
- Clarify the extent to which the construction industry operates in conjunction with manufacturing, real estate and policy sectors.
- Enable students identify the conditions allowing technological transformations to take place.
By the end of the course, the student must be able to:
- Interpret socio-technical contexts.
- Specify agency roles.
- Propose implementation strategies.
- Theorize appropriate industrial conditions.
- Work out / Determine relationships of power and interest.
- Analyze product introduction landscapes.
- Formulate strategic plans.
- Assess / Evaluate viability of innovation proposals.
Top image: Tombesi (2018)