Archinect - Features

AI is Good For Architects (For Now)

2024-04-15T13:30:00-04:00

In the final chapter of Archinect In-Depth: Artificial Intelligence, Niall Patrick Walsh reflects on the historical relationship between architecture and technology, charting a trajectory for the potential impact of artificial intelligence on the future of the architectural profession. New contributions on the topic from Autodesk's Mike Haley and Superusers author Randy Deutsch are joined by earlier reflections from throughout the series by Richard Saul Wurman, Carlo Ratti, Bjarke Ingels, and Molly Wright Steenson.

This article is part of the Archinect In-Depth: Artificial Intelligence series.

A Guide to Salary Transparency Laws Across the United States

2024-03-26T08:54:00-04:00

At present, there is no federal pay transparency law in the United States. However, as Archinect frequently reports on, several states and cities across the United States have enacted their own requirements for employers seeking to hire or promote within their organization.

Below, we have listed the details of salary transparency laws across American cities and states as they exist in March 2024. As is noted towards the end of this resource, several more states with no existing requirements are currently in the process of debating or passing legislation to strengthen salary disclosure requirements.

You can help us make architecture salaries more transparent through Archinect’s ongoing salary poll. The poll, currently approaching 20,000 submissions, allows workers from practices across the U.S. and globally to anonymously offer their salary levels.

Creativity Won’t Protect Architects from Automation — But Labor Unions Might

2024-02-27T07:31:00-05:00

The proliferation of generative AI tools such as Midjourney and ChatGPT has undermined long-held assumptions that artificial intelligence would not threaten creative disciplines. In an effort to balance the opportunities and limits of artificial intelligence in the architecture studio, we ask what lessons architects can take from recent successful labor actions by screenwriters and actors in Hollywood's entertainment industry.

This article is part of the Archinect In-Depth: Artificial Intelligence series.

'AI Is Both Incredible and Terrifying'; A Conversation with Neil Leach

2023-06-19T11:00:00-04:00

Neil Leach is a British professor and licensed architect currently based in California. He has worked for NASA developing a 3D printer for the Moon and Mars, and is co-founder of DigitalFUTURES. Having authored over 40 books on architecture and digital design, and taught at some of the world's leading architecture schools, including the AA, Harvard, SCI-Arc, and Columbia, his in-depth understanding of architecture's professional and academic landscapes allows him to speculate how artificial intelligence will impact the future of design.

For Leach, conversations limited to popular AI tools such as Midjourney and ChatGPT detract from a broader reckoning that the architecture profession must have in the face of ever-more-capable AI models and platforms. This AI-induced reckoning includes, though is not limited to, the supply and demand of architectural labor, liabilities, and insurance, and the future of all pillars of the architectural community, be it practice, academia, or licensure...

The Pandemic Exposed Deep Flaws in the Architecture Profession — But Also Inspired Remedies

2022-08-25T11:26:00-04:00

Two and a half years after the initial outbreak of COVID-19, the U.S. architectural profession has emerged from the global pandemic in a stronger condition than many could have expected during the depths of 2020. However, many questions remain unanswered on how the pandemic impacted the architectural job market, firm operations, and the design process; questions which deserve scrutiny in the interests of avoiding future economic pain, and building a more resilient profession. In search of answers, we speak to three firms in differing parts of the U.S. to hear their reflections on how the profession fared during the pandemic, and where it goes next. To understand how these unique experiences fit within a national picture, we also speak with AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker, who reflects on a deeper supply-demand issue across the profession.

Unionization in Architecture: Reviving a Dormant Movement to Fix a Broken Industry

2022-05-27T12:50:00-04:00

After decades of inactivity, 2022 saw the resurgence of the union movement in architecture with an effort by workers at New York-based SHoP to collectively organize. Where does this effort, which was ultimately withdrawn, sit within the broader discourse of architectural labor conditions? How might unionization impact employer-employee dynamics, architectural fees, and the design process itself?

In search of answers, we speak with IAMAW union organizer, and former SHoP employee, Andrew Daley, who assisted in the unionization effort while at the firm. We also speak with Peggy Deamer, founding member of The Architecture Lobby, for whom the SHoP effort was the culmination of years of activism and campaigning for reform of what an increasing number of architects see as a broken business model.

Cooperatives: The Real Employee-Owned Firms?

2022-05-06T09:00:00-04:00

In a follow-up to our January 2022 feature on employee-owned architecture firms, we question if the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) models which represent the majority of employee-owned architecture firms adequately fulfill a growing worker-led clamor for reform within the profession. For organizations such as the Architecture Lobby, and its founding member Peggy Deamer, meaningful worker ownership of an architectural firm goes far beyond the ESOP model of stock and retirement plans, and instead requires a fundamental rethink, or even abolition, of the employer-employee dynamic.

Debunking Architecture’s Mythological Work Culture

2022-04-04T14:36:00-04:00

After a recent panel hosted within SCI-Arc, called Basecamp: How to be in an office, sparked protest from students and alumni, a slew of events unfolded within the school that rippled into the architecture community, prompting passionate discourse about ethics within professional practice and academia, especially as it relates to internships and the treatment of students and young professionals. But this isn't an essay about SCI-Arc, or an account of what is going on at SCI-Arc. The events have already been well documented online and in Archinect's latest reporting on April 1.

Instead, I want to explore the deeper historical and philosophical concepts that I believe underlie what we’ll call the conservative view of architecture work culture: that long hours, toil and suffering, and low pay are inevitable realities of pursuing a rigorous design career. I see a disconnect between the traditional professional ethos and the advent of the current zeitgeist that has been born, particular...

A Guide to Employee-Owned Architecture Firms, by Those Who Have Made the Change

2022-01-10T12:09:00-05:00

Throughout 2020 and 2021, the world of work has been subject to a relentless evaluation, triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Conversations around remote working, asynchronous office hours, and workers’ wages have gained added agency, as almost all economic sectors seek to balance health and safety with turnover and productivity. Stepping back from specific employment topics such as these, COVID-19 has also caused a more fundamental re-evaluation of how work shapes our lives. A study earlier this year found that 66% of unemployed Americans were considering changing their occupation, dwarfing levels seen during the 2008 recession, while research by McKinsey found similar metrics even among those still in employment.

Within this context, it is perhaps no surprise that the topic of employee ownership of businesses has gathered pace. In a time where many are critically reflecting on how meaningful or fulfilling their core occupations are, the idea of employment generating results for the...

Shepley Bulfinch Talks About the Post-Covid Office, Diversity, Firm Leadership, and Serving Both Employee and Client

2021-11-17T13:23:00-05:00

It's nearing the two-year mark since the pandemic forced businesses to stop, reassess, and plan viable steps for their employees and clients. The team at Archinect has kept close tabs on the industry and how the architecture community has been impacted as well as responded to drastic changes happening across the industry. As 2021 slowly comes to a close, we have spent time reaching out to firms to learn more about how offices are approaching adjusted workflows, staying connected to their teams, and how firms are staying transparent with their goals entering 2022.

For the latest post-pandemic installment of Archinect’s Studio Snapshots, we connected with Shepley Bulfinch's President and CEO Angela Watson, FAIA. Since the firm's establishment in 1874, it has survived "the Great Depression, multiple wars, civil unrest, and massive technological changes," as Watson shared. This level of business acumen and survival is met with progress in the firm's team, portfolio, and, most importan...

A Conversation with Trey Trahan, FAIA, Architecture’s Business-centric Polymath

2020-08-31T13:54:00-04:00

Archinect first connected with Trey Trahan back in 2008 for an enlightening interview about architecture, design, and the origins of his practice, Trahan Architects. Perhaps one of the most intriguing things about Trey are his inherent polymathic qualities. He is a true modern renaissance man. While the design leader has reached undoubted success in the architecture industry, he has also developed a deep and profound relationship with art, drawing inspiration from his personal collection in many areas of his business and architectural work.

Business is a craft for Trey, something to be mastered and thoughtfully practiced. There is a holistic approach to life, with service to people and the community as the focus, and architecture, business, leadership, and art as vehicles to facilitate that service. Here 12 years after our first meeting, we connect with the architect again, for a discussion about leadership, creative philosophy, art, the recent pandemic, and architecture’s more pro...

Op-Ed: Don’t Waste A Recession

2020-05-30T09:00:00-04:00

"Your Life Must Suck."

That was the greeting I received from the CEO of a structural engineering firm during an AIA event in 2010. As the founder of an executive search + management consulting firm in the depth of a recession, I didn’t think his sentiment was unexpected - but it was profoundly wrong. Yes, many companies were in the midst of layoffs. The economy was struggling and companies were challenged to navigate the unpredictable future. My response: “Yes, many firms are downsizing. At the same time, those same firms are adding key leadership talent to propel their short- and long-term growth.” We were retained for and successfully recruited two new leaders for his company, one to run a new division and the other to establish a new office.

How the Pandemic Is Impacting Architectural Photography

2020-05-06T12:14:00-04:00

While most of the professional and academic architecture world managed to, more or less, cope with the new reality of the pandemic by transitioning to remote work, some specialized roles in the industry intrinsically rely on the physical interaction with space in its unique location.

To find out how architectural photographers around the world have kept up so far with the sudden limitations to business, we have reached out to a number of photographers previously featured in Archinect's popular In Focus series.

We asked them how architecture had been impacted in their region, if social distancing was even possible during shoots, and how they planned on operating now with numerous new safety measures in place.

Want To Get Your Architecture Work Published? Here Are 6 Pro Tips For Crafting The Perfect Pitch

2020-04-20T13:56:00-04:00

Having published work is a big part of marketing an architecture practice. The more people who are exposed to your design work, the more opportunity you'll have to promote your expertise and services. Publications like Archinect are go-to destinations for the industry and design enthusiasts.

With many millions of page views every month, Archinect receives countless project pitches from firms, individuals and PR companies. Some of those pitches are well prepared and well received, while others are poorly prepared and either ignored or forgotten. If you want your work to catch the eye of editors, heightening your chances of getting your work published, you'll want to consider these pro tips.

"We are three recessions away from becoming extinct as a profession" – Evelyn Lee on Business Continuity During a Time of Crisis

2020-04-07T09:15:00-04:00

In our ongoing investigation of remote work, WFH, and alternative business models during this pandemic, we’ve focused heavily on techniques, approaches, and strategies firm leaders can employ with their staff. We’ve heard from professionals first-hand, learning from their personal experiences during this shift. These personal revelations have helped us connect as a community, seeing the challenge we’re all facing as a whole. But, this challenging season also presents us many opportunities. How can we move from merely trying to survive during this period to proactively positioning ourselves to be even stronger when it subsides?

In this piece we connected with Evelyn Lee, an architect, design strategist, and Senior Experience Designer at Slack. She is also the 2020-2021 Treasurer of the American Institute of Architects and the founder of Practice of Architecture, an organization devoted to recreating the way architects practice. We discuss the importance of focusing on business contin...

Exploring Remote Work and 'Radical Flexibility' in Architecture With Diana Nicklaus

2020-01-30T09:26:00-05:00

Alternative work models have been a topic of much discussion within many professions. Architecture isn’t any different. With talks of 4 day work weeks, addressing burnout, and providing healthy flexibility for modern professionals to navigate their personal lives, alternative ways of working are pushing to the forefront of workplace discussions. What about working remotely? It may seem to be an impossibility in this fast-paced and demanding profession, but Boston-based Saam Architecture has been running strong for years on a remote work model, operating under an ideology they’ve called radical flexibility. Archinect had the pleasure to connect with Principal and Co-founder of Saam, Diana Nicklaus to discuss her team’s unique operational structure, the challenges that come with it, and how radical flexibility can augment the way design professionals work together.

How to Craft an Effective Job Ad: Streamline the Application Process Using Archinect’s Online Application Center

2020-01-15T14:30:00-05:00

The hiring process can be a complicated undertaking, for both employers and job seekers. Especially when it comes to the application process, employers face the challenge of managing countless submissions, organizing files, comparing top candidates, and efficiently communicating with their peers on the hiring team. Similarly, job applicants face their own obstacles when applying to various opportunities each with different submission guidelines. For the effective hiring team. streamlining the application process will not only optimize internal firm operations, but it will also ensure that promising candidates don’t slip through the cracks as a result of avoidable mishaps.

This is the sixth in our How to Craft an Effective Job Ad series. Be sure to check out all of the articles for a comprehensive look at composing the perfect Job Ad.

A Conversation with Audrey Sato on Fostering Hard and Soft Skills in Architecture

2020-01-07T12:27:00-05:00

For architect Audrey Sato, studying architecture may not have seemed like an obvious choice at first, but she eventually realized that her passion for sustainability and a desire to build in parallel with nature made her a natural fit for the job. Sato grew up in Hawaii, and after graduating with a double concentration in Visual Arts and Architecture Studies from Brown University, interned at architecture firms to start off her career.

The experience inspired her to pursue a Master's of Architecture degree at California Polytechnic State University Pomona. After her studies, Sato chose to start an independent practice, Sato Architects, not out of necessity, but because it was "a natural and practical thing" for her to pursue. If you ask Sato now, her plan at the time was to get going and find a way to "do it right later," a vision that, over nearly a decade of practice, Sato admits, "just kept working." Today, aside from running her own firm, Sato is a LEED-Accredited Professional ...

How to Craft an Effective Job Ad: Plan According to the Job Market

2019-12-20T13:06:00-05:00

The job market is in a constant state of flux. The biggest factor that contributes to market conditions is the economy, but this may affect industries, specialties and regions in very different ways. When a business needs to hire new talent, it's the employer's responsibility to understand the current job market when advertising their opportunities to the pool of job seekers.

This is the fifth in our How to Craft an Effective Job Ad series. Be sure to check out all of the articles for a comprehensive look at composing the perfect Job Ad.

How to Craft an Effective Job Ad: Consider Your Reputation

2019-12-13T12:18:00-05:00

The talent procurement process is an interactive back and forth between job seekers and employers, each striving to secure an ideal future relationship. Employers want team members that will help realize their vision, and job seekers want employers who will play a part in fulfilling their career aspirations. In markets where potential candidates have the luxury to pick and choose what firms they want to work for, employers must take a close look at their reputation within the industry, and consider how that status can influence their perceived allure to potential hires. When crafting your job ad, context is crucial, and your reputation is the foundational framework that will establish that contextual impact amongst your competition.

This is the fourth in our How to Craft an Effective Job Ad series. Be sure to check out all of the articles for a comprehensive look at composing the perfect Job Ad.

Choosing the Right Specification Software for an Architecture or Interiors Firm

2019-12-04T20:08:00-05:00

Remember when we had to look up a business in the yellow pages? Or when we had to go to the library to learn about a topic of interest? Technological advances, particularly the internet, have drastically changed the way we perform such tasks. Clearly, this has had a profound impact on the way we work. Not only do we have a vast amount of information at our disposal, but that information can be accessed quickly, then managed and organized clearly and efficiently.

For an architecture practice, technology has particularly affected the way designers can specify products and materials. Rather than wading through an office's library of quickly-outdated catalogs, designers these days can search ever-expanding and constantly-updated resources with ease, identifying products from around the world to use in new architecture projects. Designers can connect with representatives, negotiate quotes, and coordinate delivery faster than ever.

Some Clients Are Jerks. And That's OK.

2019-03-21T10:54:00-04:00

What we make things mean.

We’re all guilty of passing quick judgement on others. We do it everyday, most often without giving it a second thought. That idiot who cut in front of you in traffic or the uncouth teen who didn’t hold the door of the café as you were trying to get in with your stroller and a myriad of kids in tow. It’s hardwired in our brains as a remnant of a time when we had to make split-second decisions that would make the difference between life and death. It worked well as a survival heuristic, but nowadays, where the most dangerous activity most of us voluntarily engage in daily is driving, very rarely any of us have to face real and unexpected danger.

Vetting = Power; The Importance of Choosing Your Clients Wisely

2019-02-28T16:00:00-05:00

It’s just like dating.

Unlike many other professional service providers, architects sell services that routinely tie them to a client for multi-year projects, often taking one, two or even more years from kick-off to occupancy. Such long term relationships eventually move past the honeymoon phase to settle into a routine, a more casual association where each party gets to know the other more intimately. Much like a romantic relationship, the qualities, quirks and annoying behaviour traits of the other naturally rise to the surface, as people get more comfortable with one another.

There is nothing inherently good or bad about this, but it does beg the question: How do we ensure that one chooses the right kind of clients? Much like one should probably not get married on a whim, designers ought to spend time ensuring that the clients they take on are a good fit, both from a service provider perspective, as well as on a personal level, as the two eventually become intertwined as the re...

Chasing rabbits — tales from a new practice.

2017-05-19T05:30:00-04:00

My first entry into the practice diaries is apt. Last week I launched a new architects practice LōF architects. I use the plural, but sat in my office — a small room at the bottom of my garden with just about enough room for either me or a swinging cat, but not both — I realise that the ’s’ is more a statement of future intent than a present reality. It’s really just me on my own.

How 3 Architecture Firms Are Using Showreels to Present and Promote Their Work

2017-04-27T11:43:00-04:00

For a director or actor, putting together a showreel—a short video of spliced footage—is the first step in securing a gig. One may think of it as a cinematic portfolio: the means by which one presents work to the world of one's profession when the work is in motion. It might seem redundant, then, for an architect to have one too. After all, buildings are, by and large, static objects—and drawings, plans, photos and renderings can tell a lot. But, for those architects that do attempt to encapsulate their portfolio with real, edited footage—usually in combination with either voice-over or text statements—the rewards can be great. Not only does it make their work very accessible, it's also a bit of a control freak’s dream: the narrative of the practice is orchestrated, down to the millisecond.

10 Essential Skills for a Life Beyond Architecture

2017-03-24T12:00:00-04:00

The decision to study architecture feels like choosing a path for a lifetime at the age of 20. As you enter university, you think that architecture is about drawing and building as you get ready to become the next Mies van der Rohe. What you may not realize, though, is that architecture school also prepares you for many other careers out there.

Growing Up by Scaling Down

2016-12-20T11:53:00-05:00

While working in a large, hundred-plus person firm certainly has its benefits, boutique practices offer the partners the chance to create their own designs in their own way. I spoke to two firms: r+d studio, a firm started by a married couple who used to work for Frank Gehry, and Studio Hillier, a practice that was initially started in 1966 by J. Robert Hillier, merged with the enormous U.K.-based firm RMJM, and then was purposefully relaunched by the founding partners as a small studio in 2011. I asked each set of partners about the challenges of scaling down after having worked in the big leagues.

Deciding how to bill clients is complicated. What are the basic fee structures behind residential projects?

2016-07-14T10:03:00-04:00

In the same way that no two designers have the exact same aesthetic sensibility, architectural billing is tailored to the demands of a specific project. Nonetheless, certain industry-wide guidelines do apply. Here, Archinect breaks down common architectural fee structures in the U.S. as they relate to residential construction projects.

Opendesk, cracking the production code for open-source furniture

2016-03-30T15:12:00-04:00

Before the Industrial Revolution, if you wanted a new piece of furniture, you’d go to your local carpenter. Today, you’re more likely to buy a chair that’s made of Brazilian wood, designed by a Swede, and manufactured in China than one with even a single locally-produced nail. Enter Opendesk, a furniture company with a global network and local manufacturing model, which might just spark a new revolution in the industry.

Cutting Room: We talk with Patrick Creadon, director of "If You Build It", about the documentary and the power of design education in post-recession U.S.

2014-05-14T12:33:00-04:00

If You Build It documents a year in the classroom of Project H, an experimental design-build workshop for high school students in Windsor, North Carolina. Guided by designer Emily Pilloton and architect Matt Miller, the creators of Project H, ten high schoolers set out to design and build a farmers’ market hall for their town, in the hopes that it will help invigorate the local economy and inspire other community-minded projects.