On the Water House by Nikkin Sekkei. Image © Chiaki Yasukawa/Courtesy of Nikkin Sekkei.

As the year comes to a close, there are many things to reflect upon. After navigating 2022, filled with ups, downs, and everything else in between, the industry as a whole continued to endure. From architects and designers to students and faculty, it's an important time to reflect on what we've learned, overcome, let go of, and challenged. 

The Archinect editorial team has spent another year watching, listening, and reporting on the events of 2022. With the holidays approaching and the year slowly coming to a close, we want to express our gratitude and appreciation by sharing the things we're thankful for this past year.

Josh Niland — To Resilence

As most cities and countries across the world fought pitched battles against sea level rise, extreme heat, severe storms and other effects of climate change this year, I couldn’t help but to think of the similarities to very different attempts at enacting necessary protections of life and cultural property taking place inside of Ukraine. Both stories have shared commonalities of hope, perseverance, good leadership, and are dominated by individuals with the awe-inspiring true grit to pull together in order to save the achievements their ancestors have left to the ramparts. Each, in the end, will ensure the continuance of society in the face of forces positioned to destroy them. 

From the start, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine provided architects and designers the chance to help their country gird against a war they decried together (and with support from their counterparts and the international community) as an unacceptable “instrument of politics in the 21st century.” The monumental effort to maintain Ukraine’s most important historic architecture, civic landmarks, culture halls, and the other artifacts of its existence has been carried out dutifully by some, while still others hasten accommodation for an increasingly beleaguered and displaced population that struggles in the dark against Vladimir Putin’s criminal attempts to break their will. In the news cycle constantly is proof of the universal determination to restore, adapt, and even begin rebuilding, things that have both an intrinsic value and the ability to sustain people financially. What I am most thankful for in a year full of updates about human strife is simply having seen any kind of concerted effort being made in various places to preserve and enshrine the buildings, artwork, and environment that are worth saving from loss and damage for future generations. 

Nathan — To those challenging the status quo to establish eco-friendly approaches in the AEC industry

With the recent conclusion of the COP27 climate summit, I’m left both optimistic and overwhelmed by the efforts being made to address climate change. This is especially pertinent to me given how significant a role the AEC industry plays in determining the success of these ambitious goals. However, while contributing to Archinect over the last year, I’ve noticed a steady growth in the work and level of consideration to explore and establish new forward thinking and sustainable approaches in this field, across professional, academic, and commercial spaces. From the rise of alternative materials applications, such as Carmody Groarke’s Gent Waste Brick made from city waste or the creation of stronger cement made with shrimp shells, to the implementation of new legislation as seen with France’s requirement that all large parking lots be covered by solar panels or Montana being the first U.S. state to approve 3D printed alternatives to concrete walls, to Herman Miller recreating its iconic Eames Shell Chair to be made of 100% recycled plastic, I feel reassured and thankful that the AEC industry is steering itself in the right direction. 

Niall — To the grassroots groups fighting for a more equal profession

In 2022, a spark was ignited under architecture’s labor movement. Throughout the year, our editorial reported on grassroots entities in the United States and internationally, all with shared goals of protecting and strengthening workers’ rights. From the ashes of the union push at SHoP in early 2022, the first such effort in the U.S. architecture profession in 75 years, September would see the first architecture union formed by workers at New York firm Bernheimer Architecture, setting a valuable precedent for organizing groups nationwide. The United Kingdom witnessed its own worker-led renaissance throughout the year, be it a historic strike ballot in a London firm, or a new digital effort to democratize knowledge on salary levels. Each of these examples, regardless of context, was only possible through the fearless efforts of workers recognizing the need to act in an effort to improve not only their circumstances, but those of their peers. I am deeply thankful to all of you for your courage, tenacity, and resolute commitment to creating a more equal profession.

Alex — To the innovators pushing green construction toward the mainstream

With the most recent iteration of the global climate summit barely in our rearview mirror, the reminders of this challenge's direness are everywhere — and after decades of inaction, that's a good(ish) thing. In the realm of the built environment, I continued to be thankful for the myriad of innovators this year who continued to push principles of sustainability and circular economy from the niche of the lab toward widespread mainstream application. From low-tech recycling approaches, like Japan's Kamikatsu Zero Waste Center we covered earlier this year, to innovations in 3D printing of habitable structures with bio-based materials or plain local earth, to attempts to reduce material waste in concrete formwork, breakthroughs in material science, like self-luminescent concrete that could reduce the need for conventional lighting, the fascinating use of fungi in creating as well as breaking down building materials, to the implementation of software solutions that track whole life carbon emissions of buildings, the research into modular construction's carbon-saving potential, all the way through to the record-setting, job-creating, identity-changing, and envelope-pushing power of 2022's carbon capture darling, mass timber, Archinect's editorial had the pleasure of covering a wide variety of pieces to a multifaceted solution to this greatest of crises.

Kat — To architecture students: for their voices, perspectives, and tenacity

Whether 2022 was your first year as an architecture student or you're embarking on your final year, the experiences of an architecture student continue to develop and evolve. After two years of adjusting to remote learning, working from home, and navigating the demands of an ever-changing industry, students around the globe continue to learn and grow. Whether it's fighting for healthier studio/work environments, pushing for improved labor policies, or standing up against social and economic injustices, architecture students continue to amaze me. The future of the profession is changing, and while it's easy for individuals to gripe and criticize what "the youth" is doing wrong, it's important to highlight what these young and emerging designers, researchers, and instigators are doing right. From exciting studio work to developing new design approaches and technologies that will change the future of building and construction, the students of 2022 continued to preserve, stay curious, and create new possibilities for the industry. 

Paul — To the Archinect community

To the individuals that help moderate and flag comments, keeping the streets of Archinect a little less filthy

To the firms that are complying with new salary transparency laws in light of the reckoning that often comes with pulling the industry's skeletons out of the closet

To the forum commenters that bite their tongue and provide helpful advice to the confused newbie

To our readers that share tips with our editors about news that interests the industry

To our dear writing staff that tirelessly, and eagerly, keeps our community abreast of the latest news and developments

To our managers that provide ongoing support and encouragement to our team in our new mostly remote operation

To a new generation of architects that consistently push for positive change in the industry, recognizing the value of a balanced life

To our loyal Archinectors that have been around here for 20+ years(!)

Thank you! We wish you all a very merry holiday with your family, friends, and loved ones ❤️