In 2033 Architects will be the enforcers and applicators of ever evolving performance metrics. Their clients will oblige them to repetitively defend the competency and thoroughness of project completion, should failure occur from the onset of occupancy and beyond. Architects will be expected to accomplish more with less while improving the quality of life for those that we serve. Architecture will become the story of how a world rehabilitates the existing for adaptive re-use and infill. In the next twenty years, architecture will be about re-invention in delivery methods, leadership and identity.

Architects, and architecture as a profession, will face unprecedented challenges over the next twenty years. Project delivery will demand faster speeds of production, efficiency and Herculean amounts of information within the construction set. The construction set will go from being a stack of 24×36 drawings to a printed 3D model embedded with digital information that projects onto the surface area in question. Instead of wet-signing drawings, Architects will embed their thumbprint onto their 3D model. They will be expected to be knowledgeable on risk management in regards to lawsuits resultant of building failure or construction administration. The bold moves of introductory sketches in schematic design will be overshadowed with coaching on the methodologies to avoid the implication in lawsuits as well as outranking individuals looking to poach work by promising seemingly similar results for less. More care will be given to creating identities that will brand the profession as valuable and essential entities to the formulation of the built environment.

As a recent Master’s of Architecture graduate with a Biological Sciences undergraduate degree and a specialization in potato pathology it is surprising how unprepared I was for the realities of professional practice as an intern. Thriving in practice requires vast practical knowledge on building systems and the grit of ‘how a building goes together’. Much of my design education was doused in the architectural wonders of the world with veneration of the male-dominated architectural stars of the good ole days. The forms of my studio projects were cast under the influence of purposeful theory. When I inquired with my professors as to why I wasn’t getting more practical information in project delivery and industry standard BIM software applications of drawing set delivery, the educators offhanded and remedial response was: “Those are all things that you will learn in professional practice”.

After graduation, I entered a recession-ridden profession where I have been tasked to perform at a highly effective level when producing entire construction document sets. I navigate the processes of building inspections and permitting procedures all within the next ‘software of the future’. I produce reality by translating whimsical sketches-never knowing if law and structure will allow whimsical to remain. I find myself further away from design and more absorbed with acquiring more technical expertise. Without licensure, I remain an intern, lacking both credibility and identity as an architect. I face an existential crisis of job description and career path. Can I really learn it all and grow enough as a professional to achieve an expertise of merit?

Has anyone noticed that obtaining the title of ‘Architect’ is not evaluated on the merit’s of one’s design, but how mathematically they grade within a set of standardized parameters?

Furthermore, as an emerging professional, I am a woman who continually sees a group of silver-haired men from the gentlemen’s club of drawing boards and bow-ties and question if there has been enough succession planning. As part of the younger generation I want this illusive group of AIA leaders to mentor my progress in preparation for the future-to hand down the pearls of wisdom towards success. However, the unfortunate reality is that the life of a silver-haired architect is the cumulative compilation of 50 years of on-the-job training. Can they ever transition the next generation well enough? Is the information that they possess excessively outdated and without nuance?

It is time for my generation to put the architect back in the forefront of project development and work to educate our communities about the value of our profession. It is up to us to absorb insight from those who came before us and mold our continuing education to be business oriented. Associates need to involve themselves in the process of succession planning and resilience.

As I dispel all of these thoughts I suddenly find myself overwhelmed. It is daunting to think of all of the frustrations I face as an emerging professional. All of these assertions are daunting and require solid unification of our entire profession. I find myself asking if there are enough professionals who are fed up with the status quo? Am I the only one who feels that too many firms are selling their souls by lowering their profit margins just so they can win a project?

Is there a density for a revolution?

Emerging architects are inheriting a profession balancing between two paths: The materialization of a valued identity or the regression into obsolescence. In order for the Architecture profession to advance in the next twenty years, I affirm that three ideas will determine if this envisioned future becomes a reality. Students and practitioners must continue to adapt to available project delivery technologies, efficiencies and metrics for building performance. The profession needs to commit to the requirement of licensure to elevate our value and relevance. And finally, architectural firms must radically improve their business practices to justify their value and increase their legitimacy. We need a PR campaign like no other-bigger than Apple, Nike and Google combined. Then maybe if we achieve these assumptions perhaps we can all get back to doing the very thing that inspired us to become Architects in the first place: designing.

If you liked this post, I bet you’ll also enjoy my dystopian vision of the architecture profession in 2033: Blacksmith, Telephone Operator, Architect. For more on being a Leader in the architecture profession, read this post on Inspiring a Shared Vision. What do you think architects will be like in 2033? Share your thoughts below. Or better yet, e-mail them to me and be a guest blogger. I love having guest bloggers.

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