High-tech architecture, also known as structural expressionism, is a type of
late modernist architecture that emerged in the 1970s, incorporating elements of
high tech
High technology (high tech), also known as advanced technology (advanced tech) or exotechnology, is technology that is at the cutting edge: the highest form of technology available. It can be defined as either the most complex or the newest tec ...
industry and technology into building design. High-tech architecture grew from the
modernist
Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
style, utilizing new advances in technology and
building material
Building material is material used for construction. Many naturally occurring substances, such as clay, rocks, sand, wood, and even twigs and leaves, have been used to construct buildings. Apart from naturally occurring materials, many man-mad ...
s. It emphasizes transparency in design and construction, seeking to communicate the underlying structure and function of a building throughout its interior and
exterior. High-tech architecture makes extensive use of
aluminium
Aluminium (aluminum in AmE, American and CanE, Canadian English) is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately o ...
,
steel,
glass
Glass is a non-Crystallinity, crystalline, often transparency and translucency, transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most ...
, and to a lesser extent
concrete
Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most ...
(the technology for which had developed earlier), as these materials were becoming more advanced and available in a wider variety of forms at the time the style was developing - generally, advancements in a trend towards lightness of weight.
High-tech architecture focuses