The Future of the Architecture Profession

History of Architecture

Architecture can be termed “the second oldest profession” in many senses or the first one to be born out of human needs. The art of carving shelters to live in is what, humankind did in its earliest days. The practice of building a habitat out of available resources at disposal was quite unstructured before being converted into a profession during the civilizational period. During the pre-civilizational era, human activities mostly drove the abstract nature of the structures we built. It was purely based on our primitive instincts and protection against the unwanted. Then, it was the cultural and political ambitions of ancient civilizations that kind of established the designing and building of structures for specific utility as an architectural practice. The first unofficial architect in the history of humankind is Imhotep, the chief architect of the Pyramid of Djoser (the Step Pyramid) at Saqqara. Even in those times, the experimental approach combined with the informal learning of architects helped them fulfill their population's urban needs. With the inauguration of the Académie d'Architecture on the 3rd of December 1671 in France, formal academic architectural education started.

Current Scenario Regarding Architecture 

An infographics survey in 36 countries states that the average number of inhabitants per architect is 2759. Making 2.7 million architectural professionals for 7.5 billion and growing world population. In India, an estimation of 900 architectural colleges is providing education in the field of architecture. From working with and often against the environment to paving dwellings for our needs to impacting our surroundings to solve greater purposes in life, humans have come a long way in architecture. However, cited as a profession usually underpaid and in decline, the architecture profession is in the most transitional phase in its history. With the growing population escorted by technology in hand and architecture surviving at the mercy of government regulations, architects are negotiating through an unpredictable future. Don’t know what lies ahead for upcoming architects? 

Would there be an Architectural Education without Government regulations on Architectural Licenses?

1-The Decline in the Number of Architecture Colleges 

In a developing country like India, there is a whole lot of potential in the infrastructure economy. The more we develop, the more professionals, we will require to assist the infrastructure development. The case is not as simple as it seems. Every year 20000 architectural graduates are added to the country but there is a constant decline in their professional worth. Indians not valuing the architecture profession and the CoA (Council of Architecture) body not safeguarding the profession might result in a decline in the number of people pursuing architecture education. There is an outgoing rage in the architectural community due to recent events around social media posts from the official Instagram handle of CoA asking unsatisfied architects to hand over their degrees. This depicts the collective failure of the government and its bodies to safeguard the profession of architecture. The need for the profession is growing, but the government is lacking to accommodate the newly minted architects. Most of the government jobs in the architecture sector are only centralized around two to three industry experts with high-point experience, leaving no scope for newbies and less experienced ones. No system of periodic checking for colleges providing architecture colleges is also a problem here. Colleges charging a hefty amount of money with no adequate academic structure are simply not producing employable trained professionals. Thus, architecture courses already an unpopular career choice among millennials will not survive for long if the government doesn’t ensure enough economic opportunities for students opting for them. 

Despite the above-stated pointers if you think you have what it takes to be an architect. Here is an article for you - How to Build a Career in Architecture

2- Popularization of Online Education in Architecture 

The learning shift in the architectural curriculum from offline college going to online courses is inescapable, and too few passionate individuals opt for it. To be very frank learning to design doesn’t establish any sense of expertise. Everybody has an opinion of it and everybody is a designer, good or bad doesn’t matter. The current architecture course of 5 years seems quite extended and the online software tutorials are the only useful prospect. 

With the popularization of social media, conventional pieces of stuff are shifting to an online presence also. Read Should you really Build an Online Architecture Portfolio?

What is the Future of Architecture Academics? 

1- Integration of Technology in “How Architecture is being Taught” 

Bachelor in Architecture is a five-year undergraduate program in India. Most of the curriculum subjects explore the basics of construction practices and architecture design. The current architecture academics is very minimal in updating themselves to the latest computer-aided design technologies and high-tech construction practices. Most architectural colleges still rely on pencil drafting and hand-made models to communicate design, pushing students far behind in keeping up with the growing effects of technology on architecture. To continue the relevance of their existence, there could be chances of radical shifts in the curriculum taught in these colleges. This would be very much interesting to see, how these colleges can come up with such a curriculum that will accompany the use of technology in advocating design philosophies. The art part would take a back seat and most of the education would be focused on learning new software technologies, particularly BIM (Building Information Modelling), Parametric architecture, generative approach, and even programming new plugins for existing design software in the market. With 3D construction practices being popularized, many state-of-the-art architecture colleges around the world are already introducing design specifications in robotics. The same intention of using robotic arms in manufacturing and 3D printing structures could also be used in architectural model making. This will benefit students to achieve greater complexity in less amount of time.

The future belongs to AI and architecture also will not be left untouched. Artificial Intelligence vs Architecture, Will AI Replace Architects?  

2- Increased investment in R&D in architecture 

Although the awaited technological shift has a high probability of revolutionizing architectural education, this would still take time for institutions and colleges to implement these changes. The kind of supporting academic infrastructure and teaching workforce needed for implementation is in their primary state. We are already seeing a new flow of investments by governments all around the world to create a workforce for tomorrow and only continued investment in R&D from here would surely popularize the growing technological shift in architecture academics. With the popularization of online courses as stated in the above pointer, there can also be an influx of money and competitive pricing from private corporations into this, fastening the accessibility to consumer class further.

Technology is constantly changing and evolving, which means that future architects will need to use new solutions to keep up. Learn about 11 of the most important solutions here!

How Architecture would be Practiced in the Future? 

1- Death of Conventional Mid-sized Architecture Practices 

Technology is one agony aunt that is forcing all architects to level up their game. The implications of Artificial Intelligence tools on every mobile user are causing a slow death to mid-sized firms. If architects continued in the same way, the day will not be so far as your home design options would be coming from a software company. Consumer psychology depicts that users are more likely to control the development and outcome of their requirements; this is what exactly mobile applications with an abundance of design iterations would provide to their users. The very famous IKEA effect describes how people value an object, even more, when they assemble or make it by themselves. 

Opening an architecture firm is not the only way for an architect to make money. Read 10 Smart Ways For an Architect to Make Passive Income

2- Architects might Venture into other Industries 

The Silicon Valley trend of “one application for every utility” is pushing tech conglomerates to venture into the AEC sector as well. This will either increase the dependency of architects on their tech offerings or change the way architects offer their architectural services. We already are seeing the rise of architecture positions in companies operating in the Blockchain and Metaverse sectors. Also, the new terminology of design technologists is doing rounds around the globe with designers merging data algorithms to elevate the user experience of their productize services.

Is the Government doing enough to ensure the relevance of Architects in the Future? 

1- Adherence to Government Regulations is a Humane Advantage for Architects 

Governments on all sides of the world have already started to focus on the concept of smart cities to make their cities future-ready and comply with the growing burden on resource availability. This is creating a sense of scope for people monitoring this development somehow. These people can be architects but 2 to 3 people authorizing the development on the government’s behalf is not sufficient for a profession to survive. It is fully up to the intention of government bodies to produce enough skilled professionals who understand their vision and can be useful contributors to this framework on the very same vision. Architects are being taught by laws and how to keep up with them while designing on practical grounds. This one aspect keeps them ahead of all the stakeholders in the construction industry. The continuation of this very same practice by architects to adhere to the government regulations in the future and periodic enforcement by regulatory bodies could keep people seeking the help of architects. People seeking architects and architects providing them with services involve tons of soft skills also, especially the human touch of emotive response to clients’ needs. This quality of the architecture profession is not going anywhere, not at least before any radical enhancement in consumer behavior. 

2- The Growing Concept of Decentralization and its effect on Architecture 

 As mentioned above architects cannot just rely on the mercy of policymaking by governments. With concepts such as blockchain getting more popularized, the future appears to be more decentralized i.e., the distribution of decision-making, “no single group of people, sometimes the government would dictate the terms of living.” This is kind of scary from one angle but if used well it can be revolutionary for architecture and architects. The concept of NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) associated with blockchain is in the transition phase of re-popularizing art. This is becoming our very own cultural renaissance. This same can be applied to architecture also, with more and more groups forming and conveying the real value proposition of good, great architecture for society. 

Architects are the master of any construction project. This requires them to be ahead of all the players involved in the game, equip themselves with the most state-of-the-art technology available, and be up to date with public policy buildouts. In Planndesign we regularly blog about these above-stated pointers, ensuring you don’t miss a bit in the architectural world.

Lastly, take a read to the Trends That Would Shape the Future of Architecture

and 10 Clever Tips to Design a Sustainable and Affordable Home