The growing interest in blockchain has morphed its concept into something new. Before, the blockchain was simply the spine of the bitcoin network, but today the technology is being used on a burgeoning list of distributed ledgers with varying degrees of openness, security and complexity. [...] Ethereum, a public blockchain platform created by Russo-Canadian programmer Vitalik Buterin...proposes to do away with middlemen everywhere, not just in finance. — Wired

"Ethereum is a blockchain on steroids designed for more than trading cryptocurrency units or ‘coloured’ assets: developers can use it to build programs that interact with the world based on public rules enshrined in so-called smart contracts."

Some architects are already working on utilizing the blockchain to transform just about every aspect of how the profession operates – from the organization of a studio to the way projects are funded. Last fall, I talked with FOAM about some of the potentials of blockchain and Ethereum, in particular.

"Architectural transactions could evolve in a number of ways with blockchain technology," states FOAM. "For example, from the point of view of the business model, architecture could move away from client-designer relations that rely solely on fixed design and hourly fees. Instead they could exchange equity in the built environment in the form of smart contracts that distribute cryptographic tokens that represent share or equity in the agreement."

Check out the interview for an introduction to how the blockchain works as well as its potential implications for architecture.

And, in a recent conversation with Joseph Grima, cofounder of Space Caviar and co-curator of last year's Chicago Architecture Biennial, we also discussed the blockchain in regards to architecture.

For more on the rise of "crypto-architecture," check out these links:

This month on Archinect, our coverage includes a special focus on all things related to Privacy. Do you have a project that grapples with architecture's relationship to privacy? Submit to our open call by Sunday, June 19.