The Future For Architers Full Report.

THE FUTURE FOR ARCHITECTS?

GLOBAL POPULATION GROWTH 2000-2050

“IN 10 YEARS WE PROBABLY WILL NOT CALL OURSELVES AN ARCHITECTURE PRACTICE, IT WILL BE SOMETHING ELSE ENTIRELY.” ARCHITECT
Small metropolitan boutique practice

46%
INFRASTRUCTURE CONSTRUCTION GROWTH

70%
Emerging markets

WILL LIVE IN URBAN AREAS BY 2050

SHARE OF GLOBAL CONSTRUCTION

EMERGING MARKETS

128%DEVELOPED MARKETS

18%

55%

45%

Developed markets

2010 - 2020

BY 2020

MORE PEOPLE, BIGGER CITIES, MORE CONSTRUCTION...

Contents
Foreword Introduction Approach 1.0 What We Were Told By:
1.01 Architects and Designers 1.02 Clients and Consultants 1.03 Students and Graduates

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p10 p12 p16

2.0

Propositions for 2025:
2.01 Who will design our built environment in2025? 2.02 What roles might those trained in architecture have in 2025? 2.03 How might practice change by 2025?

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Conclusion Appendix

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Foreword
Dickon Robinson
Chair, Building Futures
Undertaking a study into the future of architectural practice in the depths of a recession, particularly a financially driven one such as we are currently experiencing, runsthe risk that the views expressed by authors and contributors will have been unduly pessimistic. We have done our best to guard against this danger and kept our eyes firmly on the world we will be inhabiting in fifteen to twenty years time. And we have looked back that far and further to reflect on which trends are well established and to distinguish them from changes which may be little more thanpassing fashion. The past fifteen years have been particularly interesting. The combination of lottery funding, Millennium euphoria and the global debt binge have been a great period for architecture. Our cities have seen radical change. Most now boast examples of exemplary contemporary architecture, and many have been transformed by architect designed residential towers and retail developments.For perhaps the first time the public perception of architecture has been informed by direct experience of well designed buildings large and small, and by the popularity of television programmes on architecture. Business for architects has been very good even if the quality has been uneven. However, this burst of activity, and its consequent creation of an employment bubble, has tended to obscurethe continuing changes in the construction industry that creates the context in which architects work. Architects are not alone in needing to respond to the impact of a globalising economy,

exploding information technology capability and cultural confusion. However in the face of a continuing erosion of traditional architectural skills to other players, the profession seems peculiarly vulnerableto a nostalgic backward glance at a bygone age in which the architect was the undisputed boss. Fortunately it is clear that many young graduates see nothing but opportunity in these extraordinary times. If they are to be fulfilled it is important that our professional institutions work to create the conditions which will optimise their chances. This report seeks to stimulate a discussion about thechallenges and opportunities which architects in the broadest sense face in the hope that the ensuing debate will put them in the best position to succeed.

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Introduction
This year, Building Futures set out to answer the tough questions that many professionals have been shy to acknowledge: who will design our built environment in 2025; what roles might those trained in architecturehave then and how might architectural practice have changed as a result? For a profession that is time and again perceived as being insular and more focussed on what it can offer than what its client wants, the resulting speculations offer an opportunity for discussion, reflection and exploration of the imminent changes likely to affect the industry over the next fifteen years. The study was...