Paul Boyce on how to shake up architectural education

The rising cost of living is outstripping architects’ salaries, leaving many feeling frustrated. There are currently few viable alternatives other than leaving the profession entirely. To maintain interest and commitment to the profession, systemic changes are needed at all levels of the industry, starting at the university level. ArchitectureAu asks Dom Cerantonio: what changes can be initiated in the higher education system to financially support students and future architects now and in the future?

Most Built Form what surrounds us is not created by architects, but in general we consider ourselves the main designers of the built environment. How to keep the architecture profession interesting and relevant requires deeper questions. Where does this profession fit into the first quarter of the 21st century and where will it be at mid-century and even at the turn of the next century?

The profession, its regulators and higher education institutions must work hard to understand how the construction industry and associated design professions are evolving by:

• Addressing humanitarian challenges while minimizing environmental impact through the use of innovative strategies including sustainable urban planning, net-zero energy strategies, biophilic integration, circular economy principles, adaptive reuse, modular construction, mass production, smart building technologies and community-based design.

• Incorporating recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s ongoing connection and custodianship with country into the profession’s ethical responsibility to the physical environment

• Collaborative design using digital augmentation and mixed reality technologies in architectural design, documentation, manufacturing and construction to achieve a balanced hybrid of human intervention and artificial intelligence.

• Using the empathy, creativity, and iterative design skills inherent in human-centered design thinking to analyze, critique, and guide the use of alternative perception, logic, machine learning, and problem solving enabled by artificial intelligence.

• Developing more flexible skill sets that include comprehensive technical capabilities, a clear understanding of key legal and code requirements, and fundamental business practices that rapidly evolve with the unpredictable changes in the construction industry.

Only then can architecture remain relevant and, more importantly, essential to the ever-changing processes of building design, procurement and construction. Embracing change should also encourage lawmakers to continue to protect our specific skills and knowledge, giving architects the opportunity to gain greater financial returns and career security, and ultimately replace humiliation with a new passion and commitment to architecture.

– Paul Boyce is director of design studio Tridente Boyce, senior consultant to LFRAIA and AIA. He has worked in Adelaide, Melbourne and London on a variety of projects in architecture, interior design and urban design. This response was written outside of his role as ACA National APE Coordinator, South Australian APBSA APE Coordinator and ACA Board Member.

This article is one of five answers to the same question: “People are leaving architecture – is their education to blame?” Read Melonie Bale-Smith’s views on the same issue here and Dom Cerantonio’s here. Follow Donald Bates and Senlina Mayer for answers.