The architecture industry may soon be unrecognizable

There only a few absolute truths in life. The two most recognizable are death, and unless you’re very rich or politically connected, taxes. There are, however, numerous others just a slight tier below; not the least of which is that nearly everyone has a story of themselves or someone close to them wanting to be an architect at some point in their lives.

In our collective societal brains we envision these rarified individuals to be highly creative thinkers and mathematical whizzes who are constantly innovating. Those who study history might even think of the great masters of antiquity such as Imhotep, Vitruvius, Brunelleschi, or other unknown masters of ancient Rome, Persia, Mesoamerica, or China as prime examples of such great genius at work. Folks may even recall the more recent genius of Buckminster Fuller, Eero Saarinen, or Frank Lloyd Wright. The modern reality of our profession, however, could not possibly be further from this perceived history, even in its most romanticized version.

The death of architecture as we know it

With the rise of technology there are radical changes headed our way and the architecture/design industry as we know it (and have known it for generations) will soon cease to exist as a result. This is not necessarily a bad thing. On the contrary, it has the very real chance to be an incredible opportunity, if we let it. 

This is not to say that the architects of today aren’t highly creative or have a desire to innovate. It’s simply that the industry (especially in the U.S.) has severely and intentionally limited this creativity to a fault for a wide variety of reasons: consistency, profitability, and liability are chief amongst them. 

Like any technology, AI’s rise poses as many potential benefits as it does challenges. It’s all in the nuance of how we use it and adapt (or not). Those who do will thrive, those stuck in the ways of the past will count their days numbered (or look for other careers).

Our roles as human “producers” of documents will rapidly morph into something much more resembling “creative direction” as many drawings become automated. While some will certainly still need to remain deeply involved to check drawings and provide overall concept direction (similar to what many senior designers and firm principals already do now) many other positions will simply no longer be needed as work that historically took teams of people days/weeks to produce will be accomplished in a matter of minutes.

This will drastically reduce firm overhead and billing rates will likely soon follow as a result. Once this occurs, large scale firms that historically leveraged their numbers and resources will lose their competitive advantage and we will see the fast rise of micro studios taking on challenges and being competitive on projects previously thought impossible for all but the largest of companies. This will result in the typical business model being flipped on its head causing the industry to reappraise its value and focus on the more creative side of the profession.

As is the case with any radical and fast-moving change, this is both deeply exciting and absolutely terrifying at the same time. 

The future of architecture

This can and will be a golden age of exploration and possibilities if approached correctly. Do we dare to live up to the challenge? 

For a many reasons, the business of architecture has been profoundly broken for decades. It is often abusive and thrives off a “hustle culture” of overworking for nominal gain—in many cases simply to perpetuate the grandiose myth of a sole genius architect.

As an industry we do a terrible job of educating the public, our clients, and to some degree even ourselves, as to what architects actually do. If we can’t define that and communicate our value, how can we ever expect things to ever change?

This is not a shock to anyone paying the least bit of attention. It’s far past time that we burned it all down and started from scratch. Whether we like it or not, a sea change is coming. Circumstance will force our evolution and test our creativity in ways never before imagined—unlocking new practices, potential and possibilities. Let’s just all make sure to do this better next time. 

“Our profession’s culture is trapped in a doom loop and it’s up to us to change it,” said Evelyn Lee, president of the American Institute of Architects. I once told a friend when I was about to go out on my own, rethinking the future of the practice and my place within it, “I don’t want to be an architect. I just want to do really incredible architecture and there’s a really big difference.” 

William Dodge is founder and design principal at p-u-b-l-i-c and cofounder and artist at A Gang of Three.  

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