Brickchat

I suppose that its ok to feel useless for a while when you start anything new. The discomfort is healthy. From it you learn your trade and more importantly about yourself. After several years in the architecture profession I am still trying to understand how we can truly add value for society while being paid by clients whose incentives can be very different to those who actually use the buildings we design.

The present day is as good of a time as any to bemoan how the most powerful members of our society can shape the world around them to their self-interested ends, best explained by the inauguration of a billionaire real estate developer as President of the United States. That same billionaire believes it is not enough to build decadent skyscrapers all over the world, he must also put his name on them. My point is that we cannot underestimate the influence that architecture has on society, not as a means to lead a vision for the future but more as a commentary on who wields real power in our economy. As much as we would like to think otherwise, this is an incumbent fact of human civilisation, a fact of life.

Societal norms, social trends and civil conflicts have far greater influence over architecture than architects could ever hope to possess. We are the enablers of cultural movements, but we are not the suppliers of them. With clients squeezing margins, financial and technical constraints now define the work we do. Our modern obligation to comply with a plethora of design standards means that certain building typologies have been stripped of their excitement. Design by compliance and budget is the priority. The only reason medium density blocks were given balconies in London is because of the introduction of a regulation that required outdoor amenity space for units of a certain size, not because architects thought they would be nice things to have.

Over time, architects and other professionals have fought to retain influence, as clients and economies change constantly around them. Sadly the need to stay in business has pushed us into a role of servitude, rather than that of the visionary thinkers we once thought ourselves to be. We have become conduits for societal trends as opposed to their critics. The construction industry (in particular the housing sector) has become a political device, with major parties more interested in protecting their current supporters interests rather than creating stability for those whose support they will rely on in years to come.

We have all been subjected to successive timid governments and weak housing policies. Subsequently architects work only for rich developers, whose set up with cash strapped local authorities is becoming all the more permanent. The need to be seen to be working towards the issue of supply is driving more and more councils to take this route, but these joint ventures need to be treated with caution. There is a blurring of the already blurry line between public and private money in property which raises questions over who holds sway. Tweaking a fragile system is not an acceptable long term solution.

The world's growing complexity has made it harder for good ideas to emerge. Our culture covets the new and the crystalline, but this is leaving huge gaps in our society. Ideas for how can we solve the difficult problems faced are held to account by a more informed and educated audience, and often treated with a world weary suspicion that few manage to break past. This is compounded by the ease with which false information and propaganda can be spread and facts easily manipulated. Statistics are chopped up into soundbites, the complex is being oversimplified. To believe that the world is better or simpler than it was is one of the great deceptions of our time.

The last decade has seen exponential improvements in communication technology, but somewhere along the way we have all become worse at communication itself. My first forays into the public consultation process have highlighted the risks involved in making dramatic and sudden changes to communities without proper communication. Transparency is vitally important now more than ever, but more has to be done, more empathy has to be shown. Truly great architecture happens when you are able to give people what they need but add a little something extra that can be shared and enjoyed by everyone.

There is no denying that this question of how to make myself useful is going to take forty maybe even fifty years to answer, but to stay sane I have to believe that I can leave this place slightly better than I found it. For the time being, keep learning and keep listening to what people want and what they actually need, what their hopes are, and their fears.