Where do we go from here?

Over the past few years with the developed world in financial crisis, projects stopped indefinitely and Architects being put out of work or continuing to work forever diminishing fees it feels as though the profession is doomed to extinction. In conversations with friends and colleagues the subject of the purpose of Architecture inevitably comes up, or more to the point where do I see it going in the future. The truth is none of us know how the future is going to pan out and it is becoming increasingly evident that it is unlikely that things will be the way they were before 2008.

For me it is about how we as Architects adapt to become ‘valued’ by society in the future. Cities continue to change and new places and experiences continue to create new stories. Those experiences of the built environment and in some cases the natural environment through student’s eyes then later dealing with some of the issues and viewing through professional’s eyes begin to set up a context for viewing the world and that context is Architecture! The journey has revealed just how much of an influence some of the players have had on the environment that many take for granted.

In this context everything built and man made in terms of environment is Architecture. It has been built by humanity for the use, enjoyment and in many cases non-enjoyment and eventually abandonment by humanity. Not that everything was designed and its construction supervised by Architects, much of what we live with is built outside the control of Architects, but each element of the built environment sets up the context that Architects have to comprehend, integrate with and transform into new places to for people to live, work, play.

As a profession we were not responsible for the for the factories built during the industrial revolution for example, or the pollution caused to the air, rivers and soil or the countless products that are discarded to litter the environment, but we are the only construction professionals with the knowledge, understanding and above all imagination and vision to deal with the legacy in a positive way. In developing countries, where industry has not created wastelands it is possible to share experiences from the lessons of those nations and cities that are dealing with the legacy. In areas of extreme climate such as desert regions, we have the knowledge gained from experiments that enable us to be able to design entire cities that are in tune with their environment without resorting to the business as usual scenario and burning more oil and gas.

In any context we are capable of steering hugely complex projects through the minefield of bureaucracy and address the social, cultural, economic and environmental issues to make a project a success. Architecture as a process is an immensely collaborative one, gone are the days when we could concentrate on one masterpiece and follow it through from initial sketch to final built product. Projects are far too complex to be driven by one person today it is a team of specialist consultants whose specialist knowledge contributes to the overall vision under the leadership of the project leader. The reality is that in many cases the project leader is not an Architect but could be from any construction related field and assumes the role of Project Manager. That itself is not necessarily a bad thing where the management of stakeholders and balancing conflicting requirements is a full time occupation. In many cases though, projects are led by cost consultants, Architects can be relegated to positions where they have less influence.

That is until considering the world view and the changing emphasis of economy and the perception of the notion of cost, it is no longer enough to consider a project solely in terms of financial cost, often referred to as the capital cost to build a project. There a growing understanding of whole life cost, that involves considering energy consumption as a real driver, there is the environmental cost of extracting the raw materials, there is disposal of waste material and what happens at the end of a building’s life that needs careful consideration. There is a growing understanding of the social cost of building cities and neighbourhoods where nobody wants to live. There is a growing understanding of the need for sustainable infrastructure, so that we do not all need to get into our car to go to the shops. Where we do not have to use power generated from coal, oil, gas or nuclear power stations. Where waste is not sent to landfill to add to the growing environmental problem of pollution. 

The full story is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble published by Xlibris — Do We Need ARCHITECTS? A Journey Beneath the Surface of Architecture

Cattle Crossing - Lahore 2014

As the boulevard heads towards a gated area, a right turn off the road reveals another boulevard except this one has no street scene and the central median is replaced with a channel that is a combination of open sewer and storm-water drain rendering the view out of the window of the trees and flowers slightly less pretty the air is rank with the odours from the open channel. Motorcycles pass by on both sides families and in many cases three men who seem to be stuck together like ‘Gummy Bears’.

Heavy corrugated iron shelters form bus stops along the roadside with a few waiting passengers and no sign of approaching buses. At a busy junction crammed with vehicles so close not that you could not get out of the car even if you wanted to and there is a bus with curious faces peering out of the windows. Through the honking and pushing across another unruly stream of a traffic donkey protests against being forced into what must seem like a moving wall as the driver skilfully finds a gap in the traffic to turn right, as if finally accepting that they had no choice but slow down, cars give way to the long suffering donkey.

The journey is held up once again as a herd of cows are crossing the road seemingly streaming out of the low rise urban sprawl that lines the side of the road driven by a girl to must be no more than seven years old, confidently in control. Turning right to follow the herd and eventually passing alongside them. A narrow side road with mature trees running along the centre and the ubiquitous blank high walls, gates an security guards along the side, at the end of the median a barber has set up shop beneath a tree with no more than a wooden chair and is busily shaving a customer. 

Driving along the wrong side of roads to avoid a puddle and taking a left alongside a patch of waste ground with sheep grazing on scrubby vegetation. A screen is being erected in green fabric. On the opposite side of the street a group of girls appear from a gap in a sea of parked cars alongside a row of trees that appears to be a school entrance across the road and into screens enclosure looking every part like a cricket team. I am told that the screens at there to prevent boys from watching. Further along the road on a patch ground that appears to have been cleared to become a construction site, a young family take their morning bath, children play in the water while their mother washes clothes in a muddy puddle.

The back story is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble published by Xlibris — Do We Need ARCHITECTS? A Journey Beneath the Surface of Architecture