Podcast:
Shifting the Architectural Practice Paradigm – What is the role of Architects in the New Economy?
“… Almost all outward things will be different because of what they bring. They are going to alter war and they’re going to alter peace.” Eugene Morgan from Orson Welles’ 1942 classic about social decline, The Magnificent Ambersons. Although Eugene’s lament was referring to the impact of the invention of the automobile in the late 1800’s, Eugene might have just as well been contemplating the future of the practice of Architecture given today’s confluence of the historic challenges and unprecedented opportunities facing architects.
Perhaps the architectural profession can take its queue from Richard Florida’s comment in his recent article “How the Crash Will Reshape America” from the March 2009 issue of The Atlantic, “The Stanford economist Paul Romer famously said, “A crisis is a terrible thing to waste.” The United States, whatever its flaws, has seldom wasted its crises in the past. On the contrary, it has used them, time and time again, to reinvent itself, clearing away the old and making way for the new.”
The AIA Kansas City participated in a discussion on how the field of architecture will need to reinvent itself to meet future demands, and how will this will impact the shape of architectural practices in KC. Speakers included Dane Stangler, Senior Analyst in the Office of the President of the Kauffman Foundation; Marvin Manlove, AIA, Principal with 360 Architects and Richard Wetzel, AIA, Assitant VP with JE Dunn Construction and current Past President of AIA Kansas City. The event was facilitated by Kevin Collison, Development Reporter with the Kansas City Star.