By Julius Mitchell
Modern Architects unlike the architects in previous history
face social and economic challenges that were unheard of in the past especially
with the declining resources and the increase in technology, the merging of
multiple cultures/diversity in large and medium sized cities, racial and
cultural tensions, the rising of a new diverse middle and upper class, and the
declining of resources that the Clients/Patrons of the past had such laborers
and what it seemed like infinite resources.
Before architects served those of the elite class and had
little to no concern with what the public wanted unless the client informed the
architect. Today architects are faced with challenges of not only ensuring the
public’s safety, but also pleasing clients (who most of the time don’t provide
money or pay for their projects on time or up front), doing research on the
project, following building codes, coming up with a design solution, and their
designs impact on the environment. Architects
also work for clients with little to no outside resources and need to provide
or provide services to supplement their services, such as engineers, and contractors
depending upon the delivery method (traditional, design build, contractor
manager led/contractor advisor, etc…) the architect and the client agree
upon. This puts current architects in
very uncomfortable positions, where they not only have to do the design and
lead the project, but also fund the project in the initial stages. This often
means paying workers’ wages and that of your consultants. This type of process
was unheard of before the 20th century. Architects usually were
provided with ample pay and resources. During and before the 17thth
century architecture was the highest paid profession in the entire western
world and in most of the rest of the world.
Today architects are struggling to stay in business and are
even going in debt on projects clients can’t afford are for some reason not
paying for. Architects are finding themselves suing and being sued more often
than before over “Cost”, not public
safety or negligence. It seems that the field of architecture is suffering from
an indirect relationship between increasing complexity in projects while wages
are decreasing. This trend seems to be
pressing architecture firms into more inefficiency, since they usually don’t
have the money and resources to go about a project properly at the speed
clients want them to. So they are left finding loop holes and means of
increasing efficiency such as computer software and internet resources that may
save them time and money.
If this trend continues as cities are becoming more diverse
in economics and cultures and the social climate changing constantly. One may
wonder if the field of architecture will continue to draw the brightest
students; seeing that the wage of architecture field is decreasing while the
complexity of projects is increasing because of social and technological
innovations. One may ask what is to keep those who with good mathematical and
visual skills from going into other fields of science such as engineering or
medical fields, being that these fields’ wages are in general increasing and
are fairly technical; meaning that the problems these fields have clear and
explainable answers unlike architecture which problems may cross multiple
fields of study.
In the end if the field of architecture is to continue,
which it must since architects design the environments that humans inhabit, how
is the field able to continue to attract those with the necessary skills and
talents to become architects and how is the field able to keep the current
architects interested in continuing their careers in architecture?
Themselves perceiving and understanding that they could make more money with
less stress doing something else with same skills they already possess. What is
to keep them from diverting to something more lucrative, easier, or more
rewarding for them and their families?
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