The Future for Architects Full Report

8/13/2019 The Future for Architects Full Report

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THE FUTURE FORARCHITECTS?

IN 10 YEARS WEPROBABLY WILL NOTCALL OURSELVES ANARCHITECTURE PRACTICE,IT WILL BE SOMETHINGELSE ENTIRELY. ARCHITECTSmall metropolitan boutique practice

70%INFRASTRUCTURE

CONSTRUCTION GROWTHSHARE OF

GLOBAL CONSTRUCTION

46%

GLOBAL POPULATIONGROWTH 2000-2050

WILL LIVE IN URBANAREAS BY 2050

128%EMERGINGMARKETS

18%DEVELOPED

MARKETS

2010 - 2020 BY 2020

Emergingmarkets

Developedmarkets

MORE PEOPLE, BIGGER CITIES, MORE CONSTRUCTION...

55% 45%


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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

2.0 Propositions for 2025:

2.01 Who will design our built environment in 2025?

2.02 What roles might those trained in architecture have in 2025?

2.03 How might practice change by 2025?

Conclusion

Appendix

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Foreword

Undertaking a study into the future of architectural practice in the depthsof a recession, particularly a nancially driven one such as we are currentlyexperiencing, runs the risk that the views expressed by authors andcontributors will have been unduly pessimistic. We have done our best toguard against this danger and kept our eyes rmly on the world we will beinhabiting in fteen to twenty years time. And we have looked back that farand further to reect on which trends are well established and to distinguishthem from changes which may be little more than passing fashion.

The past fteen years have been particularly interesting. The combination oflottery funding, Millennium euphoria and the global debt binge have been agreat period for architecture. Our cities have seen radical change. Most nowboast examples of exemplary contemporary architecture, and many have beentransformed by architect designed residential towers and retail developments.

For perhaps the rst time the public perception of architecture has beeninformed by direct experience of well designed buildings large and small,and by the popularity of television programmes on architecture. Business forarchitects has been very good even if the quality has been uneven.

However, this burst of activity, and its consequent creation of an employmentbubble, has tended to obscure the continuing changes in the constructionindustry that creates the context in which architects work. Architects arenot alone in needing to respond to the impact of a globalising economy,

Dickon RobinsonChair, Building Futures

exploding information technology capability and cultural confusion. Howeverin the face of a continuing erosion of traditional architectural skills to otherplayers, the profession seems peculiarly vulnerable to a nostalgic backwardglance at a bygone age in which the architect was the undisputed boss.Fortunately it is clear that many young graduates see nothing but opportunityin these extraordinary times. If they are to be fullled it is important thatour professional institutions work to create the conditions which will optimisetheir chances. This report seeks to stimulate a discussion about the challengesand opportunities which architects in the broadest sense face in the hope thatthe ensuing debate will put them in the best position to succeed.


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despite this most were also quite clear in stating that they would not wish togrow larger based on issues of quality control and working environment.These types of practices also expressed a resistance to integrated technologysuch as BIM, with many describing the constant upgrading of technology asunsustainable for their size of practice. There was also a signicant feelingthat the more senior members of a small practice are increasingly pullingaway from technology, relying on the younger members to keep up to date.One director voiced a concern over their practices viability should they bestripped down to just the core directors, who in his words had been graduallydeskilled.

For larger practices technology is a more signicant driver and an essentialtool required to compete. In one large practice, BIM technology formed anintegral part of their design process enabling each service to be integratedfrom day one of the concept design. One of the main ways that this size ofpractice keeps up to date is by constantly recruiting younger members ofstaff; for nearly all of the large practices we spoke to, active recruitment wasan important issue. In this respect, one large practice described the loss ofa generation of architects that could arise from this recession as a distinctthreat to their practice. There was also a considerable awareness amongstthis group of the threat from Asian nations with regards to technology andtheir incredible ability to stay ahead of the eld. One large practice quotedthe threat to keep up to date as a force that could, in the longer term future,give them cause to reduce their practice to a very small core with establishedlinks to a range of cutting edge consultants working in a network in a morenimble manner.

Another key skill that was important for a lot of practices going forwardwas related to the ability to work effectively abroad speaking a range oflanguages and learning particular customs. Larger practices overcome thisissue by recruiting for foreign ofces from local schools of architecture establishing a talent pool for each ofce. However, a number of the smallpractices felt that their approach and ethos was so deeply ingrained in wherethey work now and notions of place identity, that working abroad did notseem like a viable option.

1.0 What wewere told by...

Sample: 13 architects/designers, ranging from the largest practice employingover 400 architects, to the smallest employing just 1; both global, Europeanand UK based practices; traditional architectural rms, sustainabilityspecialists and public space interventionists.

1.01 Architects and Designers

What is an Architect?A key issue for many of the sole practitioners and smaller practices was theinexible nature of the label architect, with many expressing a view that thetitle held their practice back in terms of the type of work they were able todo. One director described the term as a brand, dictating an assumption ofwhat you will do, how you will do it and your behaviour. Some practices hadtaken the step of creating offshoot companies with a separate identity anddifferent branding to their main practice that did not use the word architect,in order to reach more diverse markets. Those that had already or wereconsidering broadening out the scope of their work, were branching into theareas of lighting design, product design, industrial design, interior design,

installation design, branding and community consultation. One particularbusiness, although founded by an architect, was now clearly branded as amultidisciplinary practice, doing very little traditional architecture. However,there was a contradiction to this view expressed by the smaller practiceswho were often conicted in their feelings towards the term architect. Forthem although the label architect was restrictive in many ways, it was alsoenabling, and a necessary part of winning clients and getting onto the ladder.

The smaller practices voiced a frustration at the restrictions placed on themin terms of the type and scale of project they were able to work on, yet

Small practices

Large practices

Transferring skill s abroad


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Sample: 15 representatives from large, medium and small clients, housebuilders, cost consultants, engineers, global interdisciplinary consultanciesand project managers.

1.02 Clients and Consultants

The role of the Architect The vast majority of the demand side of the profession that we spoke tocould see design slipping further down the pecking order in the n ext fteenyears. They justied this on the basis that building technology is becomingincreasingly more complex, so much so that design work is increasingly beingcarried out by subcontractors. The concept of the architect as a technicianwho composes all the constituent parts of a building that are designed bythe subcontractors was widely thought to be a realistic vision of the future.The demand side saw the role of the architect as still important, but as moreof a coordinator/manager role, bringing all the parts of the team together.However, they questioned whether this was a role that the contemporaryarchitect would want to do: in their view, it is a role typically taken by theengineer. There was a strong feeling that architects should be learningmanagement skills earlier in the education process, so that they might beginto take these roles on more often. A number of individuals suggested thatarchitects would be best placed to move into new elds of strategic consultingat higher levels, than to try to take back ground that has already been lost.

There was a strong feeling amongst all the professionals on the demand sideof the t able that the architects training was extremely well suited to higher

Architects on the demand side

level management positions within broader parts of the built environmentprofession. Within the group of clients and consultants, a large portion ofthem were qualied architects who had moved to the demand side of theprofession and were thriving. It was felt that there was a gap for architects totake advantage of in the realm of interdisciplinary leadership embracingtheir skills and putting them to use in senior positions within constructionrms or as clients, developers or policy makers. However there was alsoagreement that the architectural profession unfortunately does not view itselfas part of the wider construction industry, and that this was a fundamentalvalue that needs to change.

Another reason cited for architects slipping down the pecking order is theincreasingly risk averse approach taken by clients, particularly within thepublic sector in the UK. This aversion has seen the steady rise of PFI andother one-stop-shop commissions where the people who deliver projects i.e. contractors are put in the driving seat rather than the architects whosimply provide the design. It was felt that the large multidisciplinary globalpractices often engineering or contractor led that we see emergingnow are likely to be even more prevalent in fteen years time becausethey are able to carry the risk on behalf of the client. Tied into this was therequirement for BIM, which ensured the highest level of liability cover andthus the ability to take on that risk. There was considerable agreement thatwhoever carried the risk would drive the design, and so in shying away fromtaking on risk architects are diminishing their ability to inuence designoutcomes.

The emerging markets were an area that many in the demand side wereexcited about, and many were keen to be global service providers. There wasa suggestion that design was not at the forefront of the agenda in less maturemarkets and so this arena was best suited to the large multidisciplinaryglobal consultancies whose one-stop-shop approach could provide an efcient,cost effective service.

Risk

Emerging markets


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Running alongside this discourse was an agreement that there will stillbe a demand for the qualities of a starchitect that there will always beclients and projects where a high level of brand image would be required.In addition, these architects were often key in the client securing fundingfor large building projects. However, the clients we spoke to suggested thatthis role could be carried out by other types of designers with similar brandcredentials in the future, for example fashion designers, product designersetc. A smaller developer asserted that he would always seek architects andconsultants who were highly engaged in the design process on a range ofdifferent projects, and that this would not be limited to the iconic projects however this view was not typical.

Some representatives on the demand side also perpetuated the view thatarchitects are so preoccupied with their vocation that they do not considerthat practice is a business, and are less excited by the prospect of creatinga successful business than a high prole in the profession. There was alsosome continuation of the belief that architects are arrogant and focused onembodying their own ideologies rather than providing a service to clients.However these views need to be put in the context of the great esteem inwhich UK architects are held internationally and the undoubted protabilityof many of our better established and high prole rms.

Design as a business

Star-Architects


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Sample: 14 architecture, engineering, urban design and surveying students orrecent graduates, ranging from the very star t of their education to their rstfew years in practice.

1.03 Students and Graduates

Social conscienceThere was agreement amongst many of the recent graduates and studentsthat we spoke to that they had chosen to go into the built environmentprofessions with a social agenda. Both the engineering students and thearchitects agreed that the architecture profession brought a social scienceaspect to the building process that engineers often lacked. However, theengineering students believed the engineers of the future would be leadingthe production of buildings, unless architects became more skilled inengineering.

Most of the architects and planning students felt frustrated at the range ofemployment prospects facing them, and one recent graduate had already setup his own practice as a reaction to the lack of attractive practices. Therewas a strong desire to be part of a medium sized multidisciplinary practicethat fused the skills of architects, planners and other types of designerstowards more dynamic, creative work that did not necessarily t the n arrowdenition of architecture. Many of the graduates voiced a preference forlooser working relationships with, for example, a working week that was splitevenly between working for a practice and having time to pursue their ownprojects independently. This was a trend that a number had experienced and

Multidisciplinary practice

enjoyed. The concept of a multidisciplinary practice was developed with thenotion of networked practice, where a large number of professionals withdifferent skills and backgrounds were joined in a more informal way, comingtogether when a project required them to. This appealed to the architects,planners and engineers in this group.

The graduates and students of architecture echoed the same concerns overthe title architect as the practising architects we interviewed. The termcreative consultant was coined by one architecture graduate to describethe type of practice he was striving for, and the term design thinking wasalso popular amongst the group. Many saw the label architect as restrictiveand as creating barriers between themselves and other professions suchas planning and urban design. Most of the students agreed that this was asituation that had been fuelled by a deep segregation between architecturedepartments and other related departments during higher education. Itwas this deep rooted separation that they felt continued into practice hindering the goal of multidisciplinarity and a holistic approach to solvingproblems within the built environment. Interestingly, students and graduatesof engineering were more positive about their education process, and saidthey felt well integrated into the other built environment professions putting them in a good position to lead the design team. An architecturegraduate who had done considerable work in the eld of disaster relief anddevelopment agreed that there was a strong threat from engineers, whosetechnical abilities far outstripped the architect.

When presented with an example of a contemporary multidisciplinarypractice, employing 47,000 employees and working globally, the group weinterviewed voiced little desire to become part of such a practice. Admittedlyidealistic, many individuals expressed an aspiration to break down traditionalmodels of practice in the future, and reinvent a networked multidisciplinarypractice that better suited their objectives. There were only very fewindividuals who were interested in sitting on the other side of the table andbecoming clients, developers, project managers etc though the interestamongst the engineers appeared higher than amongst the architects.

Creative consultants

Changing expectations


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Small practices get 86%of their workload from theprivate sector, whilst large

practices get only 58%.

2.0 Propositionsfor 20252.01 Who will design our builtenvironment in 2025?

Parts of the industry that could remain relativelystable:

1) The small local general practice

Will be judged by their ability to produce a personal service, with one-stop- shop design that is clearly differentiated in terms of value-added from theircompetitors: the plan-smiths , surveyors and builders.

It is highly likely that there is onepart of the profession that will showresilience to the changes of the nextdecade: the small general practice

and the sole practitioner working forprivate clients with local builders.There is a unanimous feeling thatthese small practices can and will continue to practice in a similar wayto now, and that they face comparatively little competition from otherprofessionals or practitioners not least because of the modesty of thenancial returns for these services. However, they may face competitionfrom non-architect qualied players such as contractors and plan drawers,who will continue to put pressure on fees. This type of practice would bebest positioned if they offered a turn-key service, containing all the services

required for a small-build project within one company thus simplifying theprocess for potential clients. Their growth is constrained by issues surroundingprofessional indemnity insurance, their ability to man age and share risk,and the cost of investment in IT. While they may make up a numericallysignicant proportion of the profession, in terms of the value of constructionthey are in decline as many professional clients look to bundle smaller jobsinto larger contracts.

2) The international star Architects

Will be judged by their ability to produce eye-popping, wow-factor designthat might help their clients to raise funds, while making a signicantcontribution to the brand prole of their client.

growing trend for the project to be taken on by large construction companiesafter the concept design stage in-house design teams will then take thebuilding to completion. The importance of brand for the client in this typeof project will be paramount, and will be an important factor in securingfunding for such commissions one of the integral reasons for choosing a stararchitect. However, it is increasingly likely that artists and designers fromother professions will be commissioned to take on the concept design of a

I think the entirerange of middle-sized practicesfrom about 25-150 people willbe gone, andwell end up withtwo very distincttypes of practiceat each end of themarket.Chief ExecutiveGlobal Consultancy

There will always be some clients in searchof trophy buildings who will look to stararchitects to create them. While the currenteconomic climate persists, their number islikely to be more modest than the millenniumyears. Similarly, repeat clients will probablyalways commission a small proportion of theirwork from star architects who can offer themunparalleled levels of exposure and brandimage. This is a small but inuential part of theprofession where design, or at least the image ofdesign, remains the overarching driver over cost.This type of architect is likely to only complete

concept design for the international market,working with local architects to complete thedetailed design. Alternatively, there will be a


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building. There are already examples of fashion and product designers movinginto this territory, and collaborations with star architects could becomecommonplace.

3) Specialist niche practices

Will be judged by their ability to provide increasingly complex, niche servicesas part of a larger design team and process.

There will always be a role for the highly specialist service providers in theelds of access, CDM, rights of light, expert witness and so on. As buildingsthemselves become more complex and technical, the need for these types ofservices will continue and may possibly expand.

4) Traditional regional delivery driven practices

Will be judged by their ability to provide cost effective, process-drivenservices to lay clients who have little interest in design for its own sake. When commissioning buildings, the vast majority of UK businesses aredriven by practicality and price. These clients are not interested in fancyarchitecture and are most comfortable working with local practices thatare known through the local business community and where the network ofconnections allows for easy communications and simple solutions. The successof these practices will be dependent on the local economy, and will be drivenby repeat business and word of mouth recommendations rather than openly

competitive procurement. They will work as much on refurbishment projectsas on new build and will provide a strong, no nonsense, local service. In somesenses these practices are the most traditional of all.

Over the next decade,infrastructureconstruction isprojected to grow by128% in emergingmarkets, comparedwith 18% projectedgrowth in developedmarkets.

The UK has a nite market- anyone who has larger scale

aspirations is going to haveto look overseas.ArchitectMedium sized design-led practice

Parts of the industry with the greatest opportunitiesfor growth in the next five to ten years:

1) Practices in emerging economies

Will be judged by their ability to produce reliable design at lower cost andfaster than their western competitors.

A growing workforce inthe BRIC nations of highlyskilled architects who are as

professionally competent astheir western counterparts willpresent an increasing threatover the next ve years as theyoffer services at competitivelylower rates to UK practices.

This is already being made apparent with practices in the UK being undercut

used to the presence of American and Austalian practices working in the UK,and in the future we are likely to see Asian/Commonwealth practices of asimilar scale working here too.

by other UK practices who are outsourcingwork to cheaper Asian workforces. Somepractices interviewed considered this to bebenign and a harmless and necessary part ofthe industry, whereas others worried aboutthe loss of quality control. There is a realfear that those practices not prepared tooutsource work on the basis of design qualitywill no longer be able to compete in a homemarket where cost is the dominant factor. Inaddition to the threat of outsourcing, thoseworkforces will also present themselves aspractices in the UK market. We are very


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2) Global interdisciplinary consultancies

Will be judged by their ability to consistently complete projects at a range ofscales, particularly large, at low cost, quickly and with an integrated designprocess and will also increasingly be judged on the quality of their designand international credentials.

The last ve years have seen theunprecedented growth of integratedconsultancies whose appetite to swallowup smaller rms seems to know nobounds. These practices are spreadglobally and employ interdisciplinary staff.This type of practice marks a fundamentalshift in the profession away from design-led practice towards a process-drivenconsultancy often led by engineers. This isa marked change from the past where design was the exclusive domain ofarchitects (and designers). These large conglomerates offer a more costeffective, business savvy package than a medium sized architectural practiceworking with an on-off project specic team. These types of consultancy aremost attractive to international clients, including those from the developingnations, and the larger clients (often public sector) in the UK who are looking

Risk will shapethe industry in the

next 15 years.Client AdvisorGlobal consultancy

Big clients aremoving towards usingone-stop-shop globalservice providers - theprofession will have tokeep in line with that.DeveloperLarge UK-based company

to mitigate risk above all else. Theserms represent one of the mainthreats to the medium to large sizedarchitecture practice, as they winthe trust of the clients in terms of

delivering the whole project. Thereis an increasing volume of large-scaleprojects, like the Olympics, Crossrailetc, which are being procured in onepackage, and while some of the large

players that win these contracts will then employ smaller design houses toconceptualise individual buldings, in the future this work will increasingly bekept in-house.

The knock-on effect of more and more projects being carried out by largeconsultancies in the next ten years is that architects are pushed further down

the pecking order, reducing their overall design inuence and weakening theirrelationship with the client and end user. Some of these organisations havealready started to react to this trend, and have actively recruited architectswith kudos to improve the design credentials of their rm. In the future,the landscape of practice may well be made up of a small number of verylarge mega consultancies, who will be the primary employers of architects hoovering up talent in order to improve their design offer to clients.

3) BOOT (Build-Own-Operate-Transfer) designers

Will be judged by their ability to generate, realise and manage mixed scaleprojects with little risk for the client organisation.

In the last 30 years public sector work hasincreased from 30% of the total value of UKconstruction output to 40% (source: RIBA WayAhead Review). This growth is reected inchanges to public procurement processes andhas given rise to PFI and frameworkpartnerships. Although a somewhat cumbersomeand costly method of procurement, these

Over 50% of theconstruction valueof UK architects

workload is forcontractor clients.

In the 1970s 50%of architects wereemployed by thepublic sector, nowless than 9% are.

processes transfer long-term riskaway from the client organisation

and are thus favoured by manypublic sector organisations.PFI has created a new breed ofcontractors with a range of new

skills primarily around raisingcapital, nance management,project management and post-occupancy management. Theirevolution over the next ten years

could see them grow into large, multi-skilled businesses directly employing alarge number of architects in both traditional and senior management roles.These will operate under the BOOT concept, carrying large projects fromconception through to completion and operation globally, this is an ideagrowing in popularity. Already we are seeing over 50% of the constructionvalue of architects UK workload coming from contractor clients and this


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sole practitioners and small general practices, but they do not have thebroader set of skills to compete with the large, global, multidisciplinarypractices and integrated consultancies. Their focus on what they can offerthe client, rather than what the client wants, and an inability to adapt theirservices could lead to shrinking opportunities and a smaller market share.

2) Small metropolitan boutique practices

Will be reliant on design-aware clients who are looking to commissionexciting and boundary-pushing design, whilst broadening their skill set,working collaboratively and managing their clients risk.

The small, metropolitan boutique practiceis distinct from the small general practicein the type of work it takes on and itsaspirations to push the boundaries ofdesign, offering a less traditional and lessstraight forward service, effectivelyoffering the qualities of the star architecton a smaller scale. These practices willnd it increasingly difcult to work onthe scale and type of projects they want,primarily due to the prohibitive natureof their size, which restricts their abilityto take on risk a key consideration formany corporate and public sector clients.Their size will also constrain their investment in IT, in turn making them lessattractive to the larger clients. These practices will be best positioned if they

partner up, either with a group of smaller practices or with one of the largerpractices in order to establish a size large enough to avoid many of theseissues.

Our main threat is notbeing paid for the workwe do - particularly thebrief making part. Butwe never turn downunpaid work becauseit might lead to paidwork in the future.ArchitectSmall metropolitan boutique practice


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2.0 Propositionsfor 20252.02 What roles might those trainedin architecture have in 2025?In the future we may see more practitioners working in broad,interdisciplinary, internationally focused, creative and strategic businesses, aswell as holding positions of seniority in the construction industry.

What is an Architect?In order to answer this question, it isnecessary to look in more detail at whatarchitects are doing now. Although the coreof local, traditional, delivery-led practicesremain, many of the practices we spoke to hadexpanded upon the type of work that wouldtraditionally be considered the architectseld, offering a broader range of services.A number of the practices we interviewed

said that they had at times felt restricted bythe term architect, and that it was oftenthe reason they were not able to chargea fee for work that does not fall into thetraditional perception of the role. Those whomost strongly voiced this opinion consideredthemselves instead to be spatial agencies ordesign houses. Many were not working asarchitects in the formal sense recognised

The invasion ofthe architectsrole shouldnt beseen as a threatbut as a naturalchange that canbe exploited - wemust nd our ownnew opportunitiesand educationshould shift toaccomodate that.ArchitectLarge global practice

by the RIBA and the ARB, yet they still have a signicant role in affectingthe built environment unsupported and unrecognised by the profession.

In ten years weprobably will not

call ourselves anarchitecture practice,it will be somethingelse entirely.ArchitectSmall metropolitan boutique practice

There are architects working in the elds of set and stage design, publicart, installation design, design of public space, brand design, communityconsultation, research, think tanks and urban design, as well as those workingon the demand side of more traditional building contracts . The youngermembers of the profession that we spoke to expressed a strong desire to

I feel a bitorphaned by theprofession.ArchitectMedium sized design-led practice

be part of this much broader reaching,interdisciplinary concept of architecturalpractice suggesting a future of muchlooser denitions and more slipperymodes of practice. The RIBA might needto consider evolving the 20th centurydenition of what it means to be anarchitect in order to t better with the21st century reality of the profession.Communities of practice go some wayto lling the void that the membershiporganisations leave behind The Academy of Urbanism is a good exampleof this. However, working towards a broader denition of an architect wouldposition graduates to move into career paths leading to a wider range ofroles in the built environment professions and to better respond to thechanging nature of practice. In order to survive, the architect must designbeyond buildings and in turn should be supported to do so by regulatory andmembership bodies.

As we have already establishedearlier in this report, we thinkit is highly likely that thebaseline of sole practitionersand small general practicesworking for private clientsand local builders will remainfairly unscathed over the nextfteen years. However, giventhat the past thirty years hasseen a dramatic shift awayfrom architects employed bythe public sector, from 50%in the 1970s to less than 9%


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The Broader Built Environment Professions

now, there is no reason to believe that a similarlyprofound change will not affect the profession inthe next fteen years. Already, over 50% of UKarchitects workload is for contractor clients a statistic that would have seemed unimaginabletwenty years ago and already, those clients areintroducing a future in which in-house teams workunder design directors or external subcontractorsto manage the detailed design and constructionstages. So, for many practitioners, their role andposition within the construction industry is alreadychanging.

Despite the decline of the traditional architectsrole, the number of trained architects holdingsenior positions across the industry seems to begathering pace. As the demand for traditionalskills declines and the architects role becomescircumscribed, the opportunity for architects totake roles in the rest of the industry increases.

Architectural education continues to producemore qualied and part qualied architects thanthe profession can accommodate in traditionalroles. Indeed, of the average cohort entering UK

Universities to study architecture at Part 1, only around 55% continue toPart 2 - with a further 17% drop between in those entering Part 2 andthose nally registering as an architect. This clearly shows that the education

The problem isthe separationbetween whatarchitects wantto do, and thereality of themarketplace.Client AdvisorGlobal Consultancy

system is producing a hugenumber of part qualiedprofessionals who may wellnot be practicing as traditionalarchitects. At the moment,those who move into otherareas of work are effectively

Between 2004and 2009 17,111students enteredUK universitiesat Part 1, whilstonly 7,756 enteredat Part 2: a 55%difference betweenthe two.

Between 2004 and 2009 6,433architects registered withthe ARB - 62% fewer thanregistering at Part 1 and 17%fewer than registering at Part 2.

lost to the profession. Yet, in many instances they exert considerable inuenceon our built environment, occupying a number of prominent positions withinclient and contractor organisations as well as in policy units and the pressand media. The architectural profession attracts arguably some of the highestcalibre students into its education system and those graduates are wellequipped to move into careers in the broader industry regardless of theirtraditional architectural training. We may see an increasing number ofgraduates doing things other than RIBA stages A-L.


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2.0 Propositionsfor 20252.03 How might practice change by

2025?

Architects possess a huge range ofskills, many of which go unnoticed,unused or most importantly unpaid!The vast majority of these skillscome under pre-project all thecommunity consultation andanalysis, brief development,strategic thinking and preparatorywork that lies behind the earlydesign stages. There was aunanimous feeling amongst the

practices interviewed thatarchitects continually provide these sorts of services for free and that

Branching into General Consultancy

In the future architects may work in a more consultative, networked manner.

The profession is headingtowards consultancy. I thinkthat architects will have thegreatest inuence if theyconcentrate on high-endconsultancy and strategicthinking.Project ManagerGlobal consultancy

You wouldnt go to a dentist, ask themto make a model of a new tooth for you,and then if it works out well well seeif we want to engage you to do the realone!ArchitectSmall metropolitan boutique practice

this would neverhappen in any otherprofession.

There was agreementfrom the client sidethat these skills arereally valued but thata culture shift will be

required to persuade them to pay for them in the same way that they pay fortraditional architectural services. A number of the practices we interviewed

Since 2008there hasbeen a 40%reduction indemand for

architectsservices inthe UK.

had already or were planning to formalise thediverse services that they offer. One practicewe spoke to represented a key example,having successfully set up a sister company toaddress the masterplanning and communityconsultation services they found they wereincreasingly doing as an architecture practice.The sister company enables them to provideservices that clients did not traditionallylook to an architect to do removing thelabel of architect that was tied to theirpractice, freeing them to provide skills otherthan designing a building. Importantly, italso enabled them to advise other architectsand collaborate with them without beingcompetitive. Interestingly, the separation

from the architecture practice has also meant that the sister company hasmanaged to tap a new source of income while also positioning itself onthe client/user side of the table thereby opening a broader spectrum ofopportunities.

Another practice was making plans to set up two satellite companies addressing their interests and increasing demand for economic branding andindustrial urbanism. The practice director spoke of their practice strategy oftrying to break the traditional work process into smaller chunks, for whichthey could charge a separate fee for, rather than drawing out a long process

and receiving only one fee. Like the previous example, this practice spoke ofthe narrowness of the term architect that it restricted both what servicesclients were willing to pay them to do and what they were approached to do.

This approach could also favour practices with a strong track record andportfolio at a particular phase of the design process for example takingprojects to planning stage. In the same way, this could be separated off as aspecic service, with a practice brand established to delineate it from otherservice offerings. This could be a very attractive option in the next ve yearswhen clients who cannot invest long term in the whole building process look


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Commercial vs Design-led Practice

Only 50% ofUK practices havea business plan.

to break down the process into smaller parts.

One design studio we interviewed represents the extreme repacking of anarchitects skills. The director has architectural training but has applied hisskills in the realms of public art, installation design, lighting design, productdesign, industrial design and interior design also employing the businessmodels associated with those particular industries (commission based,consultancy and made to order products).

In order to compete against thecheaper workforces from emergingmarkets and the nancially strongermega consultancies, small andmedium sized practices must spendtime learning about the nancial,social and commercial environmentin which their clients operate, so that they can demonstrate that in designinga building they are contributing to achieving their wider goals. Thecontemporary division between design practices, the classic studio architectand the more commercial consultancy, appears to be becoming increasinglypolarised. It is the continuing distinction between these two which threatensthe former. Architects need, as a matter of urgency, to be able to sell theirskills with reference to cost if they are to be of use to a client. Most practicesshould concentrate on capital cost savings and not whole life costing, inorder to be more persuasive to the client, in this way they are in a betterposition to raise their fee. All architects need to ensure their nancial and

economic skills keep pace with the increasingly sophisticated and complexnancial environment of the globalised economy. An ability to manipulate theinteraction between initial capital costs, whole life costs and carbon costs willbe an inescapable part of the design process.

This skilling-up of the profession is absolutely imperative if it is to stand anychance of surviving the next fteen years intact. The profession must faceup to the reality that the context within which it now practices is continuingto change so dramatically that the skill set required must also shift withnancial skills now considered to be core. In addition to nancial literacy,the client-savvy architect must be able to see beyond building a building and

offer a service that embraces the clients broader aims, becoming a problemsolver as well as a designer.

The effects of globalisation and integratedworking (BIM) were themes in many of ourinterviews, with particular speculation aboutthe threat of outsourcing and highly skilledworkforces in Asia mobilising to outbidwestern practices, as well as the increasinguse of technology to meet client demands forbetter faster, integrated design and delivery

service. A forward thinking practice couldmobilise outsourcing to great effect by stripping

Were interestedin consortiumsof engineers andarchitects who are notthe same company butwho link up.ArchitectSmall metropolitan boutique practice

Networked Practices

We will neveroutsource and willcompete with thosewho do by doing itbetter.ArchitectMedium sized design-led practice

down to a small number ofcore employees, with allother work, particularlytechnical, being outsourcedto a network of trustedconsultants becoming farmore nimble and light onits feet. In this respect, thispractice would be able tokeep up with advances intechnology, programmingand skills having accessto the absolute best in eacheld. This mode of practicewould be far leaner, cutting

down a huge amount of the overheads of running a practice. Another modeof networked working which would appeal to large clients is a practice thatprovides a one-stop-shop service through a n etwork of consultants offering afull range of services. This type of practice would rely heavily on integratedworking and associated advances in technology to provide a seamless service.


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The majority of practices we interviewed felt very strongly that a connectionwith the schools of architecture was very important, and in some casesintegral to their practice. Many spoke of the opportunities, contacts andnetworking afforded by teaching, and of the all important supplement to adwindling income. For others it was a vitalsource of employees and a method ofestablishing a practices corporate culturewithin a school. For some practices,establishing a connection with a school isabout drawing from a talent pool and being

able to continue that pool by offering ongoingemployment. For small, boutique practiceswhose ethos is essential to the vision of theirpractice, teaching offers an opportunity to honeand develop that mantra testing it against the rigours that teachingprovides. At another practice, the connection between the Directors

You denitelywont see one of ourofces where thereisnt a school ofarchitecture! ArchitectLarge global practice

The number of studentsentering UK universitiesat part I rose 23%between 2004-2009.

professorial role ata University and thepractice runs to atheoretical level withan almost atelier-likeatmosphere. A directorat a further practicehad been teaching ata London university

for some time, but more recently had been developing the course towardsa particular large-scale type of urbanism which his practice is beginning toexplore seeing the course as a potential pool of future talent which couldnot be produced elsewhere.

A number of large architectural or multidisciplinary practices are alreadysetting up their own internal Universities, initially for employees but oftenwith the view to offering courses to outsiders. There are also small practicesrunning schemes such as Summer Schools. This points towards a future ofarchitecture schools perhaps being embedded in and carrying the brand ofindividual practices. The success of Cambridge Universitys part II course,whose structure sees teaching integrated into practice, suggests a mode of

Integration of Education and Practice future practice inextricably linked to education. An even more enhancedmodel of this, whereby practices were further integrated into schools andvice-versa would appear to improve the educational offer, as well as providingpractice with considerable benets.

Similarly, there is a growing interest in post-graduate part time courses fromprofessionals working in the built environment whether on the supply orthe demand side. Courses such as the Cities Programme at LSE, AfricanCentre for Citires at Cape Town University, the MIDIM programme at HongKong University and IDBE at Cambridge are underpinning interdisciplinarythinking across the industry, further blurring the egdes of traditional 20thcentury professional roles.

I think the world needsmore collective, empatheticgroupings of architects;collectives can have a biggerimpact than an individual, andmore collectives would give theprofession a bigger impact.EngineerGlobal rm

The Culture of Practice

It appears that the culture of practice is becoming increasingly important enabling distinctiveness and diversity in a climate of homogeneity. We foundthat even practices who did not specically refer to a culture of practice,

still described themselves inquite distinct terms, revealingthe underlying impetus behindtheir evolution. A numberof architects and designerswe spoke to had built theirbrand on the basis of a veryparticular way of working, ora set of founding principles.This was consistently tied to

clear ideas of longevity and ofsurvival beyond the foundingpartners. The graduates and

students were the group who most frequently described practices in terms ofculture describing their ideal employer with very specic provisos regardingunderlying ideas, ethical stance, attitude and many other culture-relatedthemes. It would be reasonable to infer from this that for many practices, aspecic embedded culture is very important and will enable them to standapart from their peers in a crowded marketplace. This may not be a newphenomenon, but could be an increasingly vital part of practice in the future.


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Conclusion

In the course of this study we have learned that there are many differentviews about the future for architects. It has not been feasible to consolidatethem into a single readily digestible picture, nor did we expect to. Howeverwe have tried to tease out what trends are likely to be most inuential, toplace them in a wider global context, and to consider what this means for theindustry as it is currently structured. It will have been a worthwhile exerciseif it stimulates those who are embarking on a career in architecture, as wellas others who have previously done so, to reect on how rapidly the context inwhich they work is changing, and the need to be proactive in responding to itif they are to optimise their contribution.

The UK construction industr y contributes around 10% of UK GDP. The workof the professions that drive it is therefore of vital importance to our society,and their expertise is reected in a strong global reputation. However withgrowth in the developed world, and Europe in particular, now consistentlybelow that of the far more populous developing world, our domestic marketis shrinking proportionately, as the rest of the world moves closer to ourstandard of living. Thus while the domestic market will remain substantial,(although continuing to be subject to wide uctuations such as we arecurrently experiencing), it will be an ever more modest proportion of globalconstruction activity. This is well understood by the larger UK practices,which are already strongly represented overseas. However, accessing thesemarkets is more difcult for smaller rms or sole practitioners a form ofbusiness that seems to be hard wired into the architectural professions gene.

In recent decades architecture has been a popular choice for undergraduates,

with the consequence that more students achieve a rst degree inarchitecture than can be absorbed into conventional architectural roles. Thisis also true of those who complete a second degree, some of whom decidethat those conventional roles hold little appeal, and who choose to take onother functions in the property and construction sectors or nd themselvesworking in the often more innovative fringes of practice developing newservices in related areas and opening up new markets. Architecturaleducation, (like those of the other professions), is generally undertaken inisolation from other parts of the wider industry, which can give rise to a senseof exclusiveness. This makes it more difcult for architects to perceive theirrole as part of the construction industry, with many preferring to emphasisetheir place in the wider creative sector. While the latter is a key elementin our sense of national identity, and an important part of the UK economy,its economic contribution is not at the same level as construction, and as asource of personal income is far more marginal.

It can sometimes seem that the long shadow of the gentleman architectstill hangs over the profession, obscuring the fainter, earlier memory of themaster builder. Contemporary society has more interest in the latter than theformer. While the future for the practice of architecture as a discrete businessis uncertain, the opportunities for architects have never been greater,notwithstanding the current recession. However to grasp those opportunitiesarchitects will need to develop greater nancial nous and commercialacumen, to welcome the integration of their work with others in the widerindustry, and continue to work hard to promote the extraordinary benetswhich society gains from the design process.


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Rank Drivers fo r change in

las t decade (1990s)

Future drivers fo r

change (2005)

1 New methods of

procurement PFI, Design

& Build

Sustainability / Social

responsibility social,

environmental, economic.

2 Rethinking Construction

Agenda collaborative

working, supply chain

integration, partnering

Future skill needs and training

3 Recognition of need to

change industry Increased standardisation and

industrialisation

4 IT in its widest sense Globalisation

5 Increased scrutiny and

managerialism Rise of consumer power and

expectations

AppendixAppendix 1 : RIBA ConstructiveChange Drivers

Source: RIBA Constructive Change, 2005, Bob White.

Part 1: Your Vision

Could you summarise your vision for your business and help usunderstand how you see it in 10 years time.

Is there a discrepancy between where you would ideally like yourbusiness to be, and where you think it will be in 10 years time?

Where do you see your workload coming from?

Which countries will your practice be operating in, in 10 yearstime?

Part 2: How will you get there?

What steps are you taking toward reaching your vision?

What new skills will you and your staff need to take you there?

How will your practice be structured?

How will you extend your practice abroad? (A takeover, local

recruitment, sending UK staff over?)

Part 3: Threats/Opportunities to your vision

Where/which areas do you see the most significant opportunitiesfor your business?

Where are the principal threats to your business?

Appendix 2 : Interview Questions


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Will tools like BIM enhance or diminish the significance of the

architect/your role?

What affect has the recession had on the progression of yourbusiness towards achieving its goals?

How will the increasing complexity of regulations, particularlyabroad, impact on the l ikelihood of achieving your vision?

What is the affect of globalisation and related cultural issues suchas mass immigration, the networked society and global sameness?

ll

Tony McGuirk BDPSadie Morgan/Alex de Rijke DRMMRussell Brown Hawkins BrownGeoff Shearcroft/Daisy Froud AOCMichael Pawlyn ExplorationJason Bruges Jason Bruges Studio

Steve McAdam FluidDavid Standford 3D ReidAndrew Shoben GreyworldAlan Pert NORDDominic Papa S333

Paul Heather SkanskaSteve McGuckin Turner and TownsendCharles McBeath RambolSimon Smith RambolAdrian Penfold British LandJames Bowyer E C HarrissJames Berry WoodsbaggotBenjy Lesser DerwentMike Peasland Balfour BeattyChris Tinker Crest NicholsonRichard Baldwin David Langdon

In addition, a group of 15 students and graduates from: The BartlettSchool of Architecture and Planning, The Royal College of Art,Nottingham University, Imperial College London, Kingston University,London Metropolitan University, University of Greenwich and TheArchitectural Association.

Appendix 3 : Interviewees


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Appendix 3 : References for StatisticsFront Cover:

70% of the global population will live in urban areas by 2050. The Central Intelligence Agency: The World Factbook, 2010.

The global population is projected to have grown 46% from 2000 - 2050. The Central Intelligence Agency: The World Factbook, 2010

By 2020 45% of global construction if projected to be within emergingmarkets. RICS Global Construction Forecast 2010.

Over the next decade, infrastructure construction is projected to growby 128% in emerging markets, compared with 18% projected growth indeveloped markets. RICS Global Construction Forecast 2010.

Page 20:

Small practices get 86% of their workload from the private sector, whilstlarge practices get only 58%. Fees Bureau, Architects Markets, 2010 Edition.

Page 23:

Over the next decade, infrastructure construction is projected to growby 128% in emerging markets, compared with 18% projected growth indeveloped markets. RICS Global Construction Forecast 2010.

Page 25:

In the 1970s 50% of architects were employed by the public sector, nowless than 9% are. Simon Pepper, Prof Architecture Liverpool University.

Currently, over 50% of the construction value of UK architects workload isfor contractor clients. RIBA Future Trends Practice Survey Sept09

Page 27:

The number of architects registered in the UK continues to grow - rising10% between 1999 and 2009. ARB Annual Review 2009.

Page 32:

Between 2004 and 2009 17,111 students entered UK universities at Part 1,whilst only 7,756 entered at Part 2: a 55% difference. RIBA Education Statistics 2008-09.

Between 2004 and 2009 6,433 architects registered with the ARB - 62%fewer than registering at Part 1 and 17% fewer than registering at Part 2. RIBA Education Statistics 2008-09.

Page 35:

Since 2008 there has been a 40% reduction in demand for architectsservices in the UK. CPA/Experian Construction Industry Economic Forecast, July2009

Page 36:

Only 50% of UK practices have a business plan. RIBA Small Practice Survey 2007.

Page 38:

The number of students entering UK universities at Part 1 rose 23%between 2004 and 2009. RIBA Education Statistics 2009-10.

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The Future for Architects Full Report