Seeing a Bright Side to the Architecture Meltdown

Frances Anderton pens a response to recent hand wringing about the future of the architecture profession, opining on the cyclical nature of the profession and her reasons for optimism.

1 minute read

February 10, 2012, 12:00 PM PST

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj


Anderton remarks on the very strong sense of deja vu she received whilst reading an article we linked to earlier this week by Scott Timberg.

As architecture is cyclical in nature, in concert with the boom and bust swings of the real estate market, the current period reminds Anderton of similar discussions that infected the profession during times of recession (such as the early 1990s and 1970s). With that perspective, Anderton sees reason to be optimistic:

"in the architecture world recessions, while indisputably brutal for ones livelihood, can be a time of regeneration for the art and science of building. Schools fill up with students and out-of-work practitioner-teachers who use the time in academe to test new theories."

"The interesting question is, what comes next? What building types will dominate, where will the demand be, and what language can we expect from the next generation of recession-surviving architects?"

Tuesday, February 7, 2012 in Design & Architecture Blog

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

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