Do Architects Have a Future?

Can I study architecture after 40 years old I need your advice is it a good or bad idea

It makes me sad—and for me it’s actually halted my own pursuit of education. You’d think with the way the world is expanding, evolving, and cities are growing, that the need for great design will only increase.

7% of Architech students make it. Make sure you work your ass off.

As soon as black lives matter showed I stopped watching

Your videos are great

love these ones, I'll be ok

Ace labs site is so insecure i cant sign into it. Gave it a try. Microsoft suite on medium and medium high security setting.

I have great respect for Evelyn and thinks she has a lot of great points. I have always tried to be transparent particularly with junior staff on my projects and include them as much as possible. However, that comes at a cost to the project. We often don't have the fee to have 4 people from our team in long meetings like AOC that are happening every week. But I look at people as being a long-term investment and I think the more that they understand about the whole picture, the more invested they will be in the project and the better they will be able to perform. If they are going to complain about participating or just do the bare minimum, I can't absorb that cost of going the extra mile for them.

Also, there is a huge difference between architecture and tech in terms of liability. I think it's fine for junior staff to go on site visits, and sometimes even unaccompanied, but I tell them not to make any formal decisions on the spot, to take it all in and go back to the office to issue a formal response. So much is riding on our response being correct. It also makes us look bad if a person blurts out a wrong answer and I have to correct them on the spot.

I have been a bad manager at times, but mostly I try to be the boss I wish I had instead of the ones that I did. When I was a bad manager, I was buying into some of the unspoken attitudes that are strangling the profession. I've had some good role models, but so much of my experience has been horrible. Between the attitude that people should pay their dues, the top-down decision making, the rampant narcissism, level of privilege, arrogance, and insecurity architects are tough to work for. Bad businesspeople, pursuit of perfectionism, always needing to show that we are the best and brightest, really blinds us to reality. It's not rocket science!!! I never want to do work for an architect again.

Civil engineering is the future.

Architecture needs a revolution to remove the old and obsolete mind-sets and install new and up-to-date mind-sets to adapt and survive in this constantly changing and quickly changing environment. We also get paid too little in comparison to our responsibilities.

I started out in design, and adjacent to architecture, working inside numerous firms. This goes back the early 1980's. By the mid 80's the combination of toxicity in the design business in general, and architecture in particular, along wth the underlying instability of employment of any such non-essential sector, had me fully committed to tech. I've developed software, been a founder, did work on the web from its inception, embraced mobile early, and since the late 90's I build educational experiences to bring people into tech.

What is missing, but maybe has to be, is that tech is, at its core, based on making mistakes, really big ones sometimes, that get learned from. This is recoverable when it's an app, a service, a website, but not if you've poured concrete, and not if you've just spent 8 months or 3 years getting the approvals and the financing to do so. The underlying iterative model that lies behind approaches like Agile sound like a good idea, but zero cost of replication for new iterations of a product, A/B testing, the separation of business logic and presentation are key to making it work, and do not and won't exist in architecture, and only barely in industrial design.

The other issue is credentialism. My other passion in this is tech education (I'm currently pushing out a new course in Cambodia that develops game dev skills in their national STEM programs, part of a long term interest in translating tech capacity to emerging economies), I can do what I do – create accelerated, informal education in tech, because it software, like in games, It doesn't matter what your academic qualifications are. It comes down to, can you actually write code? There are no architects' stamps in software that act as choke points for possibility. But it also affects accountability, and software has a different model for that than architecture.

People in tech are in a process of continuous self-driven retraining around languages, techniques, technologies etc., and the vast majority is ad hoc. Whatever route you got into tech development with, by year 5, there's a very good chance that zero, or close to zero of your original skillset is useful. Tech is filled with people of varying levels of ability, all involved in creating their own models of education, at all times.

Finally, underlying technologies like code repositories, versioning, branching, merging, driven by "user stories" is an example among man of a process that I don't think architecture fully understands. The inception of high-flexibility software that drove the change in architecture exemplified by Hadeed and Gehry and Rogers in the last 4 decades has been essentially naive; that software is only a small part of the story. The potential for rapid design and visualization is also the capacity to create fundamental conflicts. Lacking the kinds of structured reconciliation models that are half-technical and half human soft skills, where without hierarchy, people contribute freely and on the basis of merit and not pecking order, just is antithetical to what architects in my acquaintance experience.

What seems to be advocated for is basically more money for architects, more services that they can charge for. Like software development, the actual process of implementing the design is only a fraction of what actually happens, and clients and especially the public don't understand this. But unless architecture can reconcile the iterative processes that software has developed – which given that on the one hand architecture is the most instantiated of the professions, and software development is the most ephemeral, even immanent – they won't be able to come through on this. The model here is McKinsey, who regularly defraud the public and private sector by emitting an aura of competence in places where they have no expertise, and simply demand to paid huge sums to learn. This is not going to happen in architecture. Architecture runs on trust; consulting runs on fear. You can't reconcile those.

Fundamentally architecture – what clients are asking for, the place where the value added lies – is the practice of attaching signifiers of prestige to real estate, which has no fundamental effect on the viability or effectiveness of the underlying economics. The reason those signifiers are needed at all is to enforce the visual regime of exclusion that economic systems based on unequal, speculative land use and ownership assert. The severity of the International style, like Empire Architecture and everything else back to the Romans, gain their value to the degree that they can impose a visual embodiment of that exclusion, to serve stable social order that generates chaotic forces.

Why can't you just be happy doing that?

UX designer at slack, "elected leadership" whatever that is, BLM on her front page... do you think FLW would be/do any of these things? Instead, he built his magnificent home studio at 22 for $5000. Maybe get a clue what's wrong with architecture today: you guys are full of shit.

It’s a huge topic for discussion here. Louie Khan would ask the brick how it want to be handled, Mies went for Less is More, then came less is a bore. Because of corruption and kickback, I turned to teaching and I soon saw potentials in students. Some students gave up the course. One did Maths and years later came back and thanked me for the advice.
Suffice to say here that the course is one the a few which teaches you HOW to think and solve problems. Think Da Vinci, strive to be a Universal Person

Architects have a lot of responsibility yet we are not getting paid enough. I think firms should starts charging client in a hourly rate, this might help mitigate the issue of overworking while underpaid architecture work.

Left the profession in 2017 after 25 years - it was a miserable existence. Never looked back since. 😊

If you explore Architecture there are so many niche's to focus on. Towards the end of the video there was talk of the person who has expertise in culinary work. That is a tangent that is an entire career path on its own, kitchen consulting. I think having a niche area within Architecture you can become a specialist and make a fruitful path in that manner. Also it makes you the expert and other Architect firms may collaborate with your own specialized firm for the specific work. You really have to dive deep and there are many opportunities for viable careers in Architecture. Custom homes is another area I have seen where if you can build up the right network of clients it will keep you busy for years and you can potentially make a decent living that way too. Project management within Architecture is very lucrative as well. I have a background in kitchen consulting so I can relate to that area specifically.

I left it 2 years out of school ... with a (useless) license in 1980 and went into construction management, eventually retained by New York real estate developers.
(Made a ton of coin and retired at age 60 - which, for a Boomer is respectably young.)
Have fun competing with the robots.🤠

Honestly, it's a kiss-ass career. You gotta give help before you get help if you want to go far in this profession. Plus, it seems like the subject of AI is getting popular and more discussed every year within architecture.

Thanks. These discussions are great.

99% of architecture has been done before. No real innovation so the most persuasive personalities rise to the top. Same as modern art. All smoke, mirrors and bullshit.

Architecture is first and foremost a service oriented profession. If you think it’s primarily technical or design orientated profession, I don’t think you can make it as an architect.

You let your interviewees completely speak out their ideas without interrupting them!

So important and wonderful to see! A REAL discussion!

R A R E!

Howard Roark laughed!

Very insightful and smart women........I definitely cherish the ideas in this video and will have it as a reference......Thank you DamiLee.

There’s a lot of corporate office politics in architecture firms especially big ones. A lot of us had passion for good architecture but as u start working you’d realise people who don’t care architecture and corrupted actually make further in the company, it’s a business after all. They don’t care about what talents you have even you as a person, you are a computer program user who helps them to build models and do documentation aka make money for the company. It’s so depressing, makes you question your love for architecture and decision to become an architect, especially when all you do is working overtime still barely pays rent and bills.

I’m really indecise between law and architecture...I really don’t know what to choose

Passion and love, yea but money? No we architects we don't need money to live, we live only by being called as Architect title feeling respect.

AI is gonna take all of our jobs anyway.

In a decade or two, someone will have a need for some building and an architect firm will just plug in the requirements and have an entire building designed down to the blueprints in 10 minutes.

Working in the construction industry, I think the biggest issue is overdesign and having a poor understanding of the hardware and joinery requirements and tolerances to achieve what is desired. Contractors are always going to tell you what you want to hear, it would pay to be more cynical

So what you're saying is that you provide wishful thinking to structural engineers. Who do the actual work.

my dad is a architect in china and he has a architecture company, he says that it is getting harder and harder to run it

I totally agree with Evelyn's focus on the experience of the architect staff. Firms are made up of people and without a strong team of people, the firm can't grow. The biggest problem with architecture firms in my 12+ years of experience are the people also. As architect's we create the culture that we hate.

This is because we're trained to be designers. We don't get trained to be business managers, project managers, lead generators, mentors, financial managers, etc. School taught us design and design is what we do and not many people branch out of that to improve other areas that's crucial for an architect's success. These categories include business, leadership, operations, technology, HR, etc. People at the firm you're working with doesn't teach you this. Some people learn what not to do, some people learn that's what it takes to success.

Architects are great at design but most architects are terrible at everything else. That's why the firms are the way that they are. History repeats itself and each generation begets another generation but with the internet, channels like this and people like Demi and Evelyn, things can finally begin to change.

If you're an architect in a PM position and you were a superstar job captain, most likely, you'll be a terrible PM. The skill of PM doesn't come naturally and needs to be learned. That's why there are so many terrible PMs out there causing terrible work life balance for their team and most principals don't do anything about it because everyone is trying their best. But "trying your best" is not good enough. You need to understand the goals and responsibilities of the position and learn to give what the role/project needs. Change, not work harder with more hours. This is turning into a mini rant! I do apologize!

We need to change the culture of architecture firms. I think the revolution has started.

I imagine that being an architect requires a lot of travel to be able to meet the demand for the architectural requirements of multiple areas. But with any job or career should architects not invest in themselves as well. Things like building apartment complexes, townhomes, or condos, and then running them yourself, would that not meet the requirement of propelling your own future as an architect further. From that point, by controlling your own space, You can freely work on the architectural needs of other clients while fulfilling your own needs. Am I in the ballpark or have I missed an important piece of the puzzle?

To join your group do you need to have some knowledge of the subject

Would AI replace architects? It's something I'm the most worried about. With the rise of Dalle-2, Midjourney and such... Would architecture be the next to be replaced?

Dami & Evelyn are doing a really great job of speaking to my heart on this one, Thank-you both so much for making real considerate content like this, I understand that it takes courage and everything seems risky yes, but you both make working in the realm of architectural design much more of an open topic than a design pitch or mailing list, I greatly appreciate both of you despite everything that's affecting us all as of late and intend on saying it again too. 😎✌️

she's identifying incredible points and factors. Evelyn Lee - I hope she has more talks

I foresee the 'Dami Lee Institute of Advanced Architectural Science and Cultural Development'.

Great video on realities of your great profession. But I am wondering How is A.I. specifically changing the field of architect . A.I. is creating disruption over all industries. More insight into the technologies of A.I. architecture that is being used currently more in detail would be great.

architects need to design within budget, take an advanced course in building maintenance, and officially address the proposed buildings' lifespan & future demolition / recycling strategy.

Recently I am frustrated want to continue to get further study for architecture or not, I was Architecture Degree holder, I have experience and skill to produce drawing but the main point is my design sense not outstanding. After Half way of your video, I think I should change the path.

Dami is so pleasant to look at. Gurl drop this architecture shit, go be a model

My grad program professors often ask the same question to us. After learning the history and the current state of architecture, I've honestly not been too optimistic about the profession if it stays the way it is.

Very interesting question, that is impossible to answer in a short video unfortunately. Just discovered Dale2, it shows that the creativity of even an architect can be scripted with AI. Our job is not the same as before, a new era is here.

Interesting and relevant discussion. I would have worded the title something along the lines of: "Do Architects Gatekeep?"

Can somebody answer with yes/no

I can't even imagine writing specs. That must have been very draining.

I reckon there will be a future because the population continues to grow and the needs for that said population need to be met.

So cool to see two professional Asian female architects 🤎