<p>While I remain to be optimistic about the future of the industry, I will also have to say that the profession is going through unprecedented changes which will lead the profession in a new direction that is ultimately for the better.</p>
<p>They say that the architecture profession changes every decade when a recession hits and the paradigms for creating architecture change. In the past decade, we have seen an excess in speculative development, overexcess in spending, and overbuilding. You surely won’t see that in the next couple of years.</p>
<p>All the work which has added momentum to the architectural scene in the past couple of years, especially in the commercial and residential markets, are gone. Banks are not lending money now and there is too much capital loss for anyone to really want to invest in a project. Thus many firms whose clients were developers or focused in the commercial market are really badly hit and are laying off many architects.</p>
<p>Because of overbuilding, there is already too much that is built and not enough demand for them. In Dubai, half of the buildings built are empty because they were built on speculation - ponzi schemes which projected value based on an inherently flawed system of greed. Likewise in America, many big box buildings and suburb houses are either really cheap or not even used because there is no demand for them. What then gives clients the reason to build even more when you can re-use what has already been built?</p>
<p>Firms that have diversified their market base beyond commercial and residential markets are the only ones really surviving the industry right now. At the firm I work at, we are only surviving because of a massive institutional project that is being funded by the government.</p>
<p>My assumption is that in the next decade, you’ll see a greater emphasis on re-use, infrastructural work, and institutional buildings. We can still improve our infrastructural systems such as roads, bridges, which have often be neglected in favor of fancy luxury condominiums and houses. </p>
<p>Blobitecture, parametric design, and the type of fancy buildings you see in renderings will be largely marginalized to the very few starchitect firms because they have yet to prove themselves to be truly cost effective to the general client.</p>
<p>Competition will be extremely stiff for job positions but I believe those who persist and are very good will be able to lead the profession when others have left. </p>
<p>thoughts?</p>