Why the World Needs More Architects

With aging buildings and infrastructure, the housing crisis and other social and economic issues, there needs to be more of the kind of thinking that architects employ for these issues to be resolved. Architects solve complex technical issues on a daily basis, reach consensus amongst diverse teams and stakeholder groups over long periods of time a project might take to complete, envision, create and deliver buildings and edifices that have never existed before and that remain useful and relevant for generations to come. The gritty, resourceful, creative, value-add, empathetic and wide-ranging, solutions driven mentality, attitude and approach that architects bring to the table can be useful even outside of our immediate fields of architecture and construction to solve wider issues society faces as a whole. Here are several areas where se could use more architects or simply look through the eyes of an architect to achieve greater understanding and resolution on any given issue or problem. More than ever we need people who want the world to be a better place and have the capacity to envision it and then realize it.

1. Aging Cities. Here in Los Angeles and across other major cities in the US, it is hard not to notice the deterioration of buildings and infrastructure across vast expanses of city streets and neighborhoods. Buildings are in bad shape and there is an overwhelming need for their rehabilitation and restoration. Even with the building boom of recent years it has been hard to change the image of decay and urban blight. As architects, developers and municipalities look to address these issues through policies and high level discussions on real estate development, we must all take on the challenge before us and look to improve our own surroundings as much as possible. This is not just an issue of aesthetics but of progress which is not reflected (or the lack of is) in our surroundings. How is it that our phones and tablets are beautiful but our kids still learn in post WW2 temporary trailers and our homes and institutions are crumbling? As architects we need to bridge this gap. 
2. Housing Crisis. The rise of homelessness and high cost of housing in Los Angeles and other metropolitan areas were some of the most widely discussed and covered issues of the past year or so. How is it that well into the 21st century at a time of unprecedented economic and technological growth, we haven’t resolved this basic human need, the need for shelter. What sort of policy and tax reform, building technology, construction practices, and design process we need to improve to make this happen? Let’s put on our thinking and architect hats. 
3. Design Thinking. As architects we don’t just draw lines on paper but utilize our design thinking and problem solving skills constantly. We are able to use limited resources and our creativity to arrive at outcomes that are more than a sum of their parts. This type of thinking is useful in a world that is plagued with economic limits and social issues. The win-win outcomes we are looking for as a society can only come from such all encompassing analysis and design. Furthermore architects are empaths and humanists looking to improve the quality of life for all not just looking to leave their design signature on the planet. 
4. Building Value. As architects we envision environments, structures and realities that are not yet in existence and through our work, persistence, collaboration and resilience bring into existence. We add to the world structures, spaces, environments and experiences that have not yet existed prior. These are not just buildings but places of work and play, places where people learn new skills and children grow. This is an incredible value to society as it propels its core well-being and future progress. Architects are instigators and originators of positive socioeconomic change and cultural depth and diversity all of which are so much needed today.

1. Innovation. Architects are innovators in the truest sense of the word. Architecture has the potential of addressing and resolving many of the issues even modern technology can only address partially. Our limited resources and the environmental strain of modern development, need for human interaction and connection our need for balance and wellbeing, our response to natural disasters and the most recent pandemic, food security, among many others have all to some extent been addressed with advances in technology but only partially. Furthermore, architects think in terms of systems but more importantly, architects transpose vary abstract concepts into reality and into our physical working world. I think that it is this quality that architects contribute that can have such tremendous impact on the world that is only on the brink of unprecedented technological innovation and transformation.