This book sets the stage for understanding how the exponential escalation of digital ubiquity
in the contemporary environment is being absorbed modulated processed and actively used for
enhancing the performance of our built environment. S.M.A.R.T. in this context is thus used
as an acronym for Systems & Materials in Architectural Research and Technology with a specific
focus on interrogating the intricate relationship between information systems and associative
material cultural and socioeconomic formations within the built environment. This
interrogation is deeply rooted in exploring inter-disciplinary research and design strategies
involving nonlinear processes for developing meta-design systems evidence based design
solutions and methodological frameworks some of which are presented in this issue. Urban
health and wellbeing urban mobility and infrastructure smart manufacturing Interaction
Design Urban Design & Planning as well as Data Science as prominent symbiotic domains
constituting the Built Environment are represented in this first book in the S.M.A.R.T. series.
The spectrum of chapters included in this volume helps in understanding the multivalence of
data from a socio-technical perspective and provides insight into the methodological nuances
involved in capturing analysing and improving urban life via data driven technologies.
