Archinect - News

As the architecture industry faces a volatile business landscape, a refocus on marketing strategy is essential

2020-07-23T16:04:00-04:00

During the economic downturn the pandemic has forced upon many professionals, architecture firms seem to be focusing on improving their PR, marketing, and external communications. It's a coherent move. On the one hand, business owners do well to focus on communication strategies during this time to win new work during a time when new projects in some sectors may not be as abundant and to stay relevant. But, on the other hand, a refocus now positions firms for capitalization when things pick back up.

Evidentially, on Archinect's Job board, we see a clear push towards communications and marketing. SOM’s San Francisco office, for example, is hiring a senior-level Marketing Manager to lead efforts within the office to win new work. Some of the key responsibilities in this role include developing and implementing local marketing and business development strategies through collaboration with Firmwide Marketing and Business Development leadership. These areas directly address the organiz...

"The new real-estate concept of ethnic cleansing" gets investigated

2017-04-04T17:58:00-04:00

It is true that the developers of Europe’s largest regeneration project don’t appear to do ordinary. But they don’t seem to do many black people either...Speak to any property-marketing agency and they will tell you their east-Asian clients are buying a piece of England, which – for them – means blond-haired, blue-eyed Burberry models.

In a particularly taut and enjoyable piece for the Guardian, Oliver Wainwright investigates the questionable marketing tactics behind a starchitect-studded project in England that is catering mainly to East Asian buyers, among several other structures being sold primarily to off-shore clients. Are the ethics of the profession being comprised to make some cold hard cash? As Wainright notes:

In the computer-generated visions emblazoned across the site hoardings, the bustling cafe-lined streets are inhabited by an almost entirely monocultural society of white thirtysomethings. Women with long blond hair and shopping bags, occasionally accessorised with prams, fill the foreground of a scene drenched with that scorching Miami sunshine so familiar to this part of Britain’s capital. “New exciting concept coming soon,” coos another billboard over a vacant shopfront where this tableau is intended to unfold. The new real-estate concept of ethnic cleansing.

Iran purposefully building "sexy" structures to attract media attention

2016-12-13T13:55:00-05:00

In this eye-candy survey of Iran's newest architectural projects and prevailing trends, Architectural Digest takes a closer look at how the country's architects and architecture is shifting to not only attract more media attention, but to create a new visual identity:

"Right now, the massive trend in Iran is to design and build structures with the goal of being recognized by the media,” says Hooman Koliji, associate professor of architecture, planning, and preservation at the University of Maryland. “Therefore, there is an implicit effort and competition to create forms that look different and, dare I say, sexy.” This approach to modern architecture has garnered great results for Iranian talents such as Leila Araghian, whose design of Tehran’s Tabiat Pedestrian Bridge took home the prestigious 2016 Aga Khan Award for Architecture, bestowed every three years. Certain elements of Araghian’s bold, modern design incorporate motifs of Iranian architecture dating back centuries. With its c...