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When his father died, Kosuke was in the sky somewhere between Los Angeles and New York, feeling about as content as he had ever been. Because his flight had been overbooked, the airline had upgraded him to business class and given him a window seat. So he was able to watch in comfort as the earth slipped away and the tall skyscrapers of downtown Los Angeles were swallowed by the purple haze. When the plane curved away from the surf-edged shoreline, he turned his gaze to the darkening eastern sky where giant cumulonimbus clouds edged in scarlet were creating a whole other landscape, separating and regrouping, changing shape constantly.

As Kosuke watched the clouds, his mind brimmed over with possibilities. What if one could construct buildings from materials that responded to sunlight? Then the sun would dictate the form of the building: walls would automatically become transparent to allow in the morning light, darken when the sun hit them, and clear as clouds passed over them. At night, they would become opaque to conserve heat, but the roofs could become transparent so that those inside could look out at the stars. Windows would be able to open and shut like the...