Is Architecture a dying industry?

Disclaimer: I participated in an essay writing competition with the following questions, so these following thoughts are mine and mine alone. But its not necessary that my experiences might incline with yours. These are my honest views, you’re welcome to read it if you read it with kind eyes and an open mind. But the following angry and curious testaments are my truest of thoughts.

“As an architect, you design for the present, with an awareness of the past for a future which is essentially unknown” -?Norman Foster”?(https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/architect-norman-foster-invested-future)

Is architecture a dying industry?

When we listen to music, we millennials, become nostalgic, wondering about the fading vocabulary in the lyrics and loss of effort in composing a melody that we were so inclined to, we always overlook the fact that an artform always evolves with time, either with mode of production or way of expression. Similarly, architecture is not a dying industry, but as we are leaving our manual tools, of sketching in a notebook, drawing on drawing penmanship and precision, and turning to learn different software to ease our thoughts converted into conceptual drawings and even 3D visualizations to now being introduced to AI as an assisting tool. It's changing evermore, and for people, it is hard to keep up but not impossible.

There is a sudden rise in software such as Building Information Modeling (BIM), computer-aided design (CAD) software, and virtual reality (VR) that is day by day transforming the way architects can design and plan buildings. These technologies enhance accuracy, time efficiency, and ease of collaboration, allowing architects to manage complex projects more effectively and timely, but for architects with the same caliber and knowledge who are not that tech savvy, it hinders their ability to keep up with the trends of designing. ?

But when you encounter the unforgiving reality, I think the hope of doing something in architecture is dying, it is an industry in which the people who are working, are lacking a social life and a life of enjoying the world because of the constant suffering from imposter syndrome and lack of earning in the field as a beginner. Without references and contact in the industry, you’re just an employee, a very replaceable low self-esteem employee.

Now, if you want to get technical and harsh, you can google made-up drawings of houses, room decors, hotels, BNB, and restaurants, and rescale if to your liking and tweak them a little and your value should be similar to a Google search that is free and available. It might sound a bit harsh and exaggerated to you. But it’s what everyone in this field with a degree and no connections suffers from.

Falling enrolments in Architecture programs, struggling Architectural firms, and the decay of public infrastructure are serious concerns in the Indian Architecture industry today. Are they problems, or merely symptoms of much-sinister issues?

Falling enrolments in Architectural programs are evident because youth don’t have the time to invest blood, sweat, tears, and money in a 5-year course with a salary that is slim to none. As someone who is working in the field and witnessed people working 10 -12 hours a day for not enough money, they see their own motivation and creativity lacking, the people who are struggling to make their mark in the field, don’t have an easy few years in the beginning, by the end they choose to switch to a field with more pay and less workload. I see the firms struggling as well because employers generally don’t know how to manage their employees, they micromanage them and don’t give them the chance to the employee to work and learn, there are unsaid expectations, where everyone is aware, that academic background is far different than a practical one, but due to the lack of motivation in an office environment, a low self-worth eventually prevails.

As the question, regarding infrastructure and the serious concerns in the industry, clients expect more from architects, including better cost management, faster project delivery, and innovative design solutions. Yet, they don’t want to give them a creative space nor do they want to invest in the quality for it. The finicky nature of the clients, the lazy behavior of the tenders and the project leaders panicking to end the project and get a meeting in line with overworked employees is a recipe to end up a mix of a disastrous and exhausting bunch of overworked and unenthusiastic bunch of workforces.

Architects must adapt to these expectations by embracing more human parts of the deal and respecting the technologies and methodologies each architect puts their work in. We are taught to learn about Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright and so many more, we are inspired by their work and their out-of-the-box thinking, which would never ever succeed in real life. You, as an architect, who is not allowed to think outside the box, only privileged money-making architects are allowed to do so.

Is the global Architecture industry doing any better? Is technology Architects’ savior or nemesis?

The global reach of the construction industry means architects are increasingly working on international projects, requiring them to understand diverse cultural, bylaws, and climatic conditions and adapt. This globalization offers both challenges and opportunities. The ability and ease of availability to outsource certain tasks overseas where labor costs are lower can impact local architectural firms. This can lead to reduced job opportunities and pressure on delayed payments.

The current state of the industry faces such challenges as economic fluctuations and the need to adapt to new technologies. Architects face growing difficulty in guiding requirements and increased accountability concerns. Navigating through these issues can be challenging, particularly for smaller firms that may lack the resources to manage these issues effectively. With these rising unresolved issues there is an underlying gap between what is taught in architectural schools and what is practiced in the real world. Graduates may find themselves unprepared for the demands of modern architectural practice, leading to a mismatch in skills and industry needs.

So, also to answer if technology is a savior or nemesis, this automation can be a double-edged sword, as it increases work efficiency but also devalues some of the creative traditional skills and reduces the value of ‘human’ hours.

Lastly, Are Architects a phenomenon of a bygone era?

Given and discussed these very surface-level challenges, it's not unreasonable for one ?to question whether “architects are becoming a phenomenon of a bygone era?”

This field, even though people would deny it, is a very money-driven industry, as all singers don’t become Grammy award winners, similarly, not all architects are just phenomenal Frank Gehry-s of the generation, all are broken, surviving bit by bit, in a very cruel cut-throat world where you have just seemed as someone who digitally draws Pinterest pictures of buildings on your Laptop and the work is done, nobody even counters the sleepless nights, the back aches, the migraines, the stress level and the horrifyingly low confidence every student of architecture goes through wondering and hoping that after these 5 years, they will have a life of respect and comfort.

There is a romantic notion that expresses that the architect is a master builder and visionary designer is increasingly at odds with the realities of the modern construction industry. The profession is under siege from multiple fronts, and its future looks bleak without significant changes.

In conclusion, the architecture industry is indeed facing a critical stage. The decline in student enrollments, the struggles of architectural firms, the decay of public infrastructure, and the disruptive impact of technology all point to an industry in distress. These issues are not just isolated problems but are interconnected symptoms of deeper, systemic issues that need to be addressed to prevent the further decline of this once-noble profession.

In all fairness and truth, architecture at the end of the day, is an art form, architecture is a form of expression, and art never dies it evolves.

Written by - Ar. Zehra Ali