Archinect - News

AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker breaks down the industry's burgeoning renovation revolution

2022-10-26T11:58:00-04:00

It’s the first time in the 20 years the AIA has collected this data that renovations have breached 50%. In 2005, toward the end of a pre-recession building boom, renovations made up approximately one-third of billings. That share has been increasing steadily since 2017, when it was 44.4%, up to 52% this year. Kermit Baker, the AIA’s chief economist, says that the last time the market for design services was so heavily weighted toward renovations was likely during the Great Depression.

According to Baker, about 25% of renovation projects constitute interior remodels, while adaptive reuse schemes make up another quarter of those registered with the AIA. Just 3.8% are done in the interest of improved building energy performance, with a scant 1.6% being resiliency projects. The article also mentions the organization's estimate that only 10% were undertaken "as a result of the pandemic" in spite of the prevailing industry narrative.

Data centers are unsurprisingly leading the renovation charge, followed by office upgrade projects aimed at luring back remote workers ("There’s almost a perfect correlation between what sectors are the strongest and where there was the most renovation activity," according to Baker.)

"Buildings are just getting older," he explained further, pointing to demographic causes. "Our economy is growing more slowly, our popula...

IKEA publishes 70-year catalog archive

2020-09-08T14:41:00-04:00

Last month the IKEA's Museum in Älmhult, Sweden opened an exhibition showcasing 70's years of their iconic catalogs. Due to the location, and COVID, the exhibition was limited to a small number of visitors. Fortunately, they have just published their Swedish catalog archive for all to see. Quite fascinating to see how furniture trends have evolved over the decades...

1950's...

1960's...

1970's...

1980's...

1990's...

1997 - Same year that Archinect launched!

2000's...

2010's...

2020's...

Seattle architecture professionals identify 5 residential trends

2018-09-13T15:11:00-04:00

As with every single other thing about Seattle, there’ve been some developments in residential design since 2008 [...] Here are five opportunities, in the form of developments in residential architecture over the past 10 years as identified — and expressed — by some plugged-in visionaries.

The Seattle Times tracked 5 developments in residential design addressing housing issues in the city. For each trend they spoke with an architecture professional working in the field. Below are Seattle's identified trends and some of the visionaries addressing them:

1. Multifamily Housing Moves Thoughtfully into Single-Family Neighborhood
-Mary Johnston of Johnston Architects
The Potential of the Detached Accessory Dwelling Unit
-Robert Hutchinson of Robert Hutchison Architecture
Modern Modular Housing
-Rick Mohler of Mohler + Ghillino Architects
High-End Design in High-Rise Apartments
-Olson Kundig Architects and Ankrom Moisan Architecture
Greener is the New Green
-Leah Missik of Built Green

Architecture and engineering professionals weigh in on technology trends for 2018

2017-12-29T15:56:00-05:00

A new study put out by Chaos Group reveals how recent trends are affecting the architecture industry and offers insight into some of the potential changes we can expect for 2018. Based on feedback from 5,769 industry professionals, the study found, overall, the biggest change in architecture in the past 3 years to be the industry's increased reliance on recently introduced technology like BIM and VR. 70% of those surveyed for the study cited increased reliance on technology as the industry's biggest shift, greatly surpassing the previously cited demand for sustainable design.

The study also reported that we can expect to see this continued growth in 2018. Over two-thirds of architecture and architectural visualization professionals plan to use VR next year; 28% already are, with another 28% currently experimenting. Additionally, of the adopters, 80% are using the technology on multiple projects, suggesting that VR is playing a more significant role in company workflows.

The demand ...

Winter chill grips UK architecture job outlook as 2017 ends

2017-12-20T14:08:00-05:00

Confidence in the future prospects of UK architects falls as 2017 comes to a close. RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) released their Future Trends Workload and Staffing Indexes for the end of 2017 and the numbers are not looking good. The Workload numbers dropped dramatically just over one month from +17 in October to -1 in November, while the Staffing number entered the negatives for the first time this year.

Meanwhile in the US, the architecture and construction industry has further gained strength in November according to the latest ABI report announced this morning.

The RIBA press release stated, “However, we shouldn’t read too much into a single month’s data and these returns pre-date the decision that the Brexit talks can move to phase 2. My biggest concern is the drop in the private housing forecast. RIBA will need to keep a close eye on that in the New Year.”

A full analysis breakdown can be found here.

“The world is an Instagram ad” — how the social media app is influencing consumption of art and culture

2017-08-11T17:13:00-04:00

Spaces like the Museum of Ice Cream and the Paul Smith Pink Wall offer a perfect setting for a highly shareable image—and that’s it. What happens to art, or travel, or the outside world in general when taking a photograph becomes an experience itself? As photo-driven social networks continue to grow more powerful, they are both transforming boutique economies and exercising visual influence over our modern day cuisine, travel destinations, clothing labels, and makeup trends.

From museums to music festivals to that cool-looking, brightly colored wall there, this article looks into how image-driven social media like Instagram is increasingly changing the way people are consuming art and culture in practically identical ways.

In one interesting part of the article:

“...these critics’ concerns get to the heart of larger questions that arise when a network of 700 million monthly active users congeals into one vaguely unified, often-sponsored aesthetic. ‘Instagram is one of many arenas where professionalization, or the democratization of professionalization, is playing itself out in a very very visible way,’ [CUNY Professor Lev] Manovich said. His most recent project analyzes the brightness, saturation, and hue of Instagram photos from 81 separate cities, and he has found they’re becoming more similar. ‘We have this suggestion that visual variability is decreasing.’ The whole world is starting to look like an Instagram ad, and we are all willing participants....

Prewar Is So Last Year

2017-04-10T16:12:00-04:00

Moldings, profiles, traditional cabinets — they’re not really interested in that. They’re really interested in something more modern and definitely more linear....Of course, paring down with such attention to detail comes at a price. Where baseboards and moldings can be used to hide uneven edges, the cleaner lines favored by millennials require more precision....Yet dramatically altering the DNA of a prewar apartment could harm its resale value

Jill Krasny highlights a growing trend among younger, buyers. They may prefer older, prewar apartments to newer, cookie cutter options, yet aren't necessarily interested in the traditional finishes and historical details. Rather they are more interested in clean lines, "gap reveal" and open, modern spaces.

Use the AIA's visualized home design survey results to keep track of emerging trends

2016-01-04T15:28:00-05:00

The AIA recently revamped their AIA Home Design Trends Survey into a visual-friendly format for the 2015 findings, so this could be a handy reference tool for any home designers who want to stay on top of emerging trends that may come to the forefront in 2016. The new visual lets users quickly access charts and figures for each quarter in 2015, which focuses on a different area of home trends including "Neighborhood and Community Design", "Home and Property Design", "Home Features", and "Kitchen and Bath". The survey results also include the same business conditions questions for tracking purposes.

Check out the survey, archives, and more here.

Why do all hipsters look the SAME?

2015-03-23T14:22:00-04:00

There is always a delay between the time a trend begins to gain traction, and the time hipsters begin following it. This delay is caused because people can't be aware of what others are deciding, in real-time. As a result, hipsters gradually realise that the trend, and the decision has been made while making the same decision separately. This leads to them gradually conforming towards what then becomes the mainstream.

Now, try to imagine "architects" instead of "hipster." Vertical farms? Poche? Blobs? Hedonistic urbanism? Parametric buildings? New Urbanism? Old Urbanism? Etc, etc,.

TV shows are great indicators of urban trends, thanks to market research and popular influence

2014-06-17T13:49:00-04:00

Popular shows also are important predictors of the future of the built environment, thanks to Hollywood’s extensive consumer research and the instant feedback to current shows, and so TV tends to reflect how we live today and, more importantly, what we aspire to tomorrow. [...] We selected the most popular of six eras that captured best how we aspired to live “as seen on TV” based on time period and the development pattern that was being represented.

From revolting to revolt: Why is my office this color?

2014-01-09T13:48:00-05:00

“Avocado Green,” explains Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute. “And Harvest Gold.” Those were the colors of the 70’s, with a nice helping of brown. “It was all so pervasive in that time,” Eiseman says – without derision, notably. In the early eighties, the dominant color scheme was mauve, gray, and turquoise. Back then, color trends were virtually “dictatorial,” says Eiseman, “everyone marched to the same drummer.” Then, consumers revolted.

What's hot in housing trends these days?

2013-04-17T19:30:00-04:00

Housing starts in March rose to the highest level in five years. If developers keep building at that rate, there’d be one million new houses by the end of the year. So, what are builders building and what kind of homes do consumers want? The granite countertop of the new kitchen is like the leather interior of a new car -- a standard, special order must-have.

Why Canada's houses are getting smaller

2012-07-17T12:09:00-04:00

The Milllennials, the generation born from 1983 onwards, enjoyed a childhood free of bunkbeds or even shared bathrooms. Growing up in plush megahomes undoubtedly helped them become, in the words of one author, “self-centred, needy, and entitled with unrealistic work expectations.” Oddly, it also spawned a group of people patently unimpressed with backyards and breakfast nooks.