The thing about paradigm shifts is that they can only be identified as such in retrospect. Only when the storm has died down is it possible to say whether the introduction of new technologies, changes in the conditions under which people work and the readjustment of existing ways of thinking, has led to a genuine change in the prevailing world view. So whether the digitization of architecture will in fact lead to new views as to what constitutes architecture, remains to be seen.
At the same time, the introduction of digital design technologies, the manipulation of experience by architecture-integrated (micro)electronics integrated in the architecture and the simulation of spatial experiences in virtual reality installations, are attended already by the unabashed celebration of a cultural revolution of unprecedented magnitude that is set to take place 'in the near future'. Going about our day-to-day lives we would still be recognized by our classical forefathers, but in our heads we have long been living in Cyberia.
Bearing all this in mind, it is possible to discern two trends in the reactions to the multimedia revolution. On the one hand the aprés moi le deluge attitude; on the other hand the bonfire of the cybernauts. Is there any alternative?
