The upside to becoming an architect

So I'm back from my summer trip abroad in Europe for my architecture school. It was a great trip and I'm looking forward to writing about it. But instead of filling this blog with stories from Europe I wanted to write about some other topics.

As I have been trying to keep tabs on what's going on in the industry of architecture I've been struck by how negative the outlook is for this profession. I want to try to highlight some of the great things about the profession as well as that architects can do to make this career field better. I also don't want to overlook the obvious negatives associated with this profession, but instead of whining about the problems lets think analytically about what we should do about it.

So the first thing I wanted to address was the negative vibe surrounding this current recession. First there is nothing good about people loosing their jobs, but these companies are simply trying to stay afloat. When you think about it, an architecture firm that has been running a business that wasn't prepared for hard times and didn't see this coming probably wouldn't be the best company to work for in the future. This economic downturn will help create more streamlined companies that will operate with a better business model and that will mean a better / more reliable working environment in our industries future.

The second part is that we'll also have to start designing with more focus on economy and functionality. We will most likely need to start designing with a better concept of practicality and less design with an emphasis on architecture that serves little to no purpose. It’s become apparent that we need to start becoming an industry that designs for people first and our own "starchitect" ideals second. We also should re-think designing places to last over the years and stop slapping things together solely to cut on quality as well as cost. Hopefully we'll take what works from the past, improve upon those design ideas, and then design a future that has proven successful in the past. The great thing to remember right now is that people have seen and felt the effects of what has been poorly designed / built in the past and have decided that they have had enough.