Kengo Kuma-designed art museum in Turkey. Image courtesy of Odunpazarı Modern Museum (OMM).

2020 has been an extraordinarily challenging year. Covid-19 forced us to isolate from family, friends and colleagues, and work from home as the industry struggled to keep up with the changes the pandemic brought. Many firms experienced drastic reductions in work, as industries such as hospitality and retail faced incredible hardship and an uncertain future. As a result, many individuals in our industry faced layoffs, furloughs and pay cuts. Political tensions, cultural divisions and a heightened push for social justice further defined this historic year. During this hardship, however, there remains much to be thankful for. We'd like to take this opportunity, as Americans celebrate Thanksgiving, to share a few those things that our team is grateful for in 2020. 

Alexander Walter

Architects standing up to authoritarian power moves

To say that 2020 has been a politically charged year would be an understatement. Long before the great American presidential election fiasco, a dizzying cocktail of politics and policies dominated the news that frequently touched on issues of housing, planning, and architecture, such as the dismantling of Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing regulation. When the draft of a new executive order that could make classical architecture "the preferred and default style" for America's public buildings surfaced in February, the architecture community responded swiftly and, almost surprisingly, unified: the AIA, The National Trust for Historic Preservation, NOMA, ASLA, The Architecture Lobby, and leading academics strongly rejected an executive style mandate and, perhaps, helped that the ill-conceived "Make Federal Buildings Beautiful Again" dictate remained an unrealized draft. 

Growing American enthusiasm for climate action through design 

Catastrophic weather events linked to climate change this year have made it undoubtedly clear that immediate climate action is required on all fronts and scales — from global frameworks all the way to local grassroots movements. While the Architects Declare movement already got its start in 2019, we finally saw more nations and academic institutions sign on to the pledge — most notably the long-absent United States, and recently also Tulane School of Architecture, Fay Jones School, and Carnegie Mellon University. We will be closely monitoring how these commitments will be making concrete impacts in the short and long term.

Undying creative spirit in the face of adversity and constant disaster

And while we have been bombarded with unlimited opportunities to lose hope and crawl under a rock this year, there have also been the occasional glimmers of hope, inspiration, joy even, along the way. Stories like the World Trade Center blueprints that were pulled from the trash, a giant building that got moved by an army of robots, an online tool that could instantly draw all of the streets in any city, an activity book to help kids learn about landscape architecture, and reviews on the architecture of Super Mario Bros. kept me going and managed to turn a few stubborn frowns upside down(s). 

Katherine Guimapang

Architecture students and their resilience

Pursuing an architectural education is a demanding feat, and with the pandemic disrupting daily life as we know it, students found ways to persist, transition, and graduate. This year we asked more questions. We learned how remote learning impacted student work and saw how students embraced the digital. Most importantly, our team witnessed the initiative and activism students around the world presented during a challenging year.

#OperationPPE, open-source designs, and the industry's call to respond 

When the need for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) increased as the pandemic hit areas worldwide, architects, students, and schools joined forces to mobilize and fill the supply gap for frontline medical workers. During the crucial months of the pandemic, open-source designs were shared across the nation. 3D printers were utilized to offset PPE and ventilator shortages. The level of urgency and willingness to offer assistance was motivating.

For those who took action and fought for racial and social justice 

2020 brought a gut-wrenching series of events that shook the nation. While improvements for racial and social equality were a joint initiative for many, some pushed even harder to dismantle the industry's history with racism. Students mobilized, firms like Colloqate Design and Designing Justice + Designing Spaces presented projects for change. Groups like NOMA, AIA New York, and school leaders presented actionables to help change the industry.

Sean Joyner

Black design professionals committed to doing justice

Where do I start? There are countless Black professionals in our field advocating for change and bringing about change in their work. For some, justice is merely a concept, and for others, it is something to be done — a verb. I think of my conversations with young designers close to my age — specifically, Demar Matthews and Wandile Mthyine. But some have been at this much longer. I think of the recent essays by Melvin L. Mitchell, FAIA, the Archinect Sessions Episode with Karen Compton, and even our conversation earlier this year with Curtis Moody, FAIA. All of these people have served as an encouragement and inspiration for me this year.

More discussions on purposeful architecture

I often feel like discussions around architecture focus a lot on design for design’s sake. But, this year, it’s different. I’ve noticed rising discussions about an architecture that does something. That design is something done for a specific purpose, to benefit people in some way. I believe our focus has shifted from an emphasis on beauty to an emphasis on purpose. I think of Juneteenth and the Villa that Became a Legend and Considering the Architect’s Role in Addressing Homelessness in Los Angeles, two pieces looking at the power of architecture in the lives of the underserved.

Those embracing crisis as opportunity

This year has been a tough one. It’s been reassuring to see so many practitioners jump at the chance to serve the communities around them through design. On top of that, firm leaders have had to reactively adapt to this crisis, leading their teams through stark uncertainty. It was interesting to hear from Scott Kelsey on how CO Architects transitioned its 110+ person team to a fully remote operation, for example. Or to hear how schools such as USC and countless others had to adapt to online instruction in such little time. There was also the comprehensive reopening plan developed by ST Architects and HSB Architecture for SAR Academy and High School in New York City, a project delivered in direct response to COVID-19. All in all, the willingness to rise and serve people through design has been a high point of thanks for me this year.

Paul Petrunia

Archinectors: As always, I remain grateful to the Archinect community, continuously bringing wisdom, humor, thoughtfulness and support. 

Archinect HQ team: This hasn't been the easiest year for our team, as we've had to adjust to working remotely from our homes. It's easy to take for granted the value of being physically together as we collaborate, brainstorm, while offering support and friendship. A big thank you to my team for all the hard work and flexibility during this difficult year.

Podcast team: Ken, Donna, and our sound engineer, Danilo, have been invaluable in the success of our podcast. My deepest gratitude to you.

Parade panelists and colleagues: This year we launched Parade, with our friends at Designer Pages – a one-stop resource for all new launches in the architecture and design products/materials world. As part of our launch celebration we were graciously joined by many talented, brilliant and respected panelists to share their insight into academia, diversity, business strategy and much more. We can't thank you enough for the wisdom you shared with our community. 

Editorial contributors: If there's one thing that 2020 has taught us is that we all need to listen to each other more, and empathize with alternative perspectives and experiences. For this reason, I am so grateful for the amazing voices that have shared their thoughts with us in our feature editorial. 

Archinect's School Partners: This last year we've introduced a new school partnership program. We are grateful for these schools in their ongoing financial support of our editorial. 

Finally, thank you for reading this and being a part of our community!