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Architectural Profession Undergoing Changes

If there is anything that is undergoing radical changes now and in the immediate future, it is the architectural profession. For those architects who choose to make the changes, the changes will be both expensive and painful. For those who choose not to make the changes, it could well mean that the future of the careers are questionable at best.
The last time for significant changes came in the mid-1980’s, when CAD (computer aided drafting) was introduced. I began using CAD in 1984, and have only done a few drawings by hand since. I still have one drafting board in my office, but it is never used for drafting.
During that last big transformation, not all architects chose to switch to CAD. Very few of those architects are still around, and for those who are, the kind of projects they do are typically very limited in scope. Some are no longer practicing architecture, simply because today’s firms won’t hire architects who can’t draw using CAD.
The transformations that are taking place now are so much broader that they will make CAD look like a passing fad.
BIM (Building Information Modeling), the next generation of computer use in architecture, makes a quantum leap above the two-dimensional-oriented CAD programs.
Using CAD, we create individual site plans, floor plans, elevations, details, schedules and many other drawings that eventually comprise a set of construction drawings.
With BIM, you don’t draw a building, you create a three-dimensional computer model of the building, constructing it much as you would construct the building itself.
With this system, the parts and pieces of the model are intelligent objects that can be downloaded from the internet from individual manufacturers.

 From a completed model, the software will create the most of the traditional construction drawings.
The new Freedom Tower, which will replace the New York Trade Center towers, has been done using BIM technology.
Another change that is coming is a severe shortage of architects. Many of the baby-boomer architects are retiring, and the number of new architects entering the field is decreasing.
According to a colleague of mine in North Carolina, large firms there are going to architectural schools to recruit new employees in their sophomore years, offering to pay for the rest of their education and to give them summer jobs, with no strings attached. Even with a great incentive like that, many graduates are going into other computer-oriented businesses, especially the video gaming industry. It apparently pays a much better starting salary than architectural firms do.
The resulting talent shortage means that five to ten years from now, there will be greater opportunities for better salaries for aspiring architects who are willing to invest the time (about ten years) of education and internship.
Another change that will affect today’s architects greatly is our knowledge base. We will have to know more about “green” design, and new technologies, as well as new design and construction processes than ever before.
A significant portion of today’s market are aggressively seeking out companies with higher knowledge and capabilities, and the rest of the market will eventually follow suit.
For example, twenty years ago design-build was frowned upon by the architectural profession because it did not fit the traditional role of the architect. In that era, the architect was seen as the one who policed the contractor, making certain that the project was built according to plans.
That is no longer the case, especially with the technology available that allows the owner, the architect and the builder to work together as a team, literally from the very beginning of the project.
Not only that, many building owners are keeping their architects and builders actively involved in the care of their new buildings, recognizing that economic use and operation of their building involves life-cycle design and construction.
The changes that are beginning to occur are, I think, very positive, so much so that I have already begun making changes in my firm to allow it to compete. It will be both exciting, demanding and expensive, but I don’t plan to be one of those baby-boomers who gets left behind.

Randy W. Bright, AIA, NCARB, is an architect who specializes in church and church-related projects. You may contact him at 918-664-7957, rwbrightchurcharch@sbcglobal.net or www.churcharchitect.net.
©2007 Randy W. Bright


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8-1-2005    ©2006 Randy W. Bright, AIA, NCARB, Church Architect
4821 So. Sheridan Suite 209 • Tulsa, Oklahoma 74145 • Phone No. 918-664-7957 • Fax No. 918-622-0097• Email