Disintermediation Of The Architect?

A variety of architectural plans for stock homes and other structures can easily be purchased over the Internet, bypassing architects entirely.

1 minute read

May 28, 2001, 10:00 AM PDT

By Chris Steins @planetizen


"Such stock home plans have been around for years but until recently were distributed in magazines found at grocery store checkout aisles. Thousands of those plans now are finding their way to the Internet... The number of Web sites offering stock home plans has grown from five to more than 450 in the past six years, said Greg Dodge, e-commerce manager for DesignBasics.com, an Omaha design firm. Until 1995, the company sold its plans solely in books and magazines. Now it has 11,000 plans online."

Thanks to Tom Collins

Sunday, May 27, 2001 in The Denver Post

Lake Powell with much of the water evaporated.

Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River

Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.

October 30, 2026 - Yale Environment 360

A road in north eastern Nebraska with power lines on either side, and grassy fields.

Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity

Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.

November 6, 2026 - Grist

A rendering of a mall turned living space. People walk around a green space surrounded by apartments.

Malls are becoming the midtowns of the future

Mall and office park redevelopments are a generational opportunity to create new nodes of urbanity.

October 29, 2026 - Ben Schneider

A car drives through a puddle in NYC

NYC breaks ground on anti-flooding infrastructure project

New York City's new system will reduce stormwater flows to local sewers by 90%.

November 9 - Smart Cities Dive

Members of the Smoketown CLT gather for a photo

One Kentucky town’s secret to affordable housing

The Smoketown Community Land Trust has already built seven affordable homes for community members.

November 9 - Reasons to Be Cheerful

Two people stand under mesh coverings shaped like petals

Houston gains petal-shaped cooling infrastructure to make streets more ‘delightful’

The city has installed the pavilions along 15 blocks in Houston.

November 9 - De Zeen

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.