107 reasons why

No one else makes this their ultimate goal. The world is a better place for our having been there. Reason Architects are rare. At a time when it seems like there are too many architects for the work available — an imbalance of supply and demand — architects make up just a tiny percentage of professionals, let alone the workforce.

Architects are a rare but powerful breed. Architects matter because they are the only entity who serves not only the paying but non-paying client society-at-large. Architects respect the needs and aspirations of both the individual and the community. Admit it. Human beings the world over have built homes with nothing more than their own two hands.

Up until recently, the world existed for millennia without architects and can very well do so again. But why do so? Architects — for all we do — are a luxury that most cannot live without. Reason Architects understand the patterns of everyday life. Architects get urban design. Architects know that the design of cities and buildings affects the quality of our lives — whether this is acknowledged or appreciated is another matter.

The bottom line is this: When it comes to creating urban form, places where people live, work and play, architects matter. Not everybody has their own ideas for how to live, work, shop and play. Some architects, such as Christopher Alexander, not only influence their own tribe but worlds beyond their own i. Since Deconstructivism died, architects — irrespective of style — one way or another have focused on whole building and holistic design. Our hemisphere needs architects to keep things whole, to distinguish east and west while acknowledging the best of both, much as the Olympics have.

To keep globalization from creating an indistinguishable world. To provide order but also character and pride of place. Beyond the immediate problem.

Beyond the immediate issue at hand. The universe needs architects…to explore how to inhabit other places beyond our planet. The world needs architects — the earth, our continent and country needs architects to address national issues. Our region needs architects — to represent what distinguishes one locale from another, to make sure that our work belongs to specific place and time, so that we might place ourselves in it. Our state needs architects, our cities needs architects, and especially our suburbs.

And not just hospital design architects. Just look at what we are accomplishing in Haiti. Producing housing structures for displaced and disadvantaged populations, rethinking humanitarian assistance and pursuing innovative solutions to contemporary housing crises. Focusing on disaster relief and inexpensive and affordable design solutions.

Our community needs architects. Our neighborhoods and even our families need architects. Reason Architects are as diverse a group as those they design for. Some will try to tell you that architects have a diversity problem. Architects themselves are a diverse bunch making them particularly effective at designing for diversity. We champion the values of diversity in a beautiful way — values essential to creating livable cities and housing. Architects, some may feel, are a luxury.

So be it. But architects, as purveyors and perpetuators of good design, are truly needed. Good design is not a luxury, but a necessity. Reason Architects have respect for the past, perform in the present and aspire to have their work help create the future.

Architects work attempts to represent the time in which they build — which for us, today, represents turmoil. For many architects it is not enough that their work represents a specific time and place — they strive to have it belong to both their time and all time.

It matters because our work will not look dated and have a sense of permanence and inevitability, not leave the user with a sense o f otherwiseness. As another Frank has said Gehry : Architecture should speak of its time and place, but yearn for timelessness. Not a wrapped keepsake voluntarily transferred by one person to another without compensation but a notable capacity, talent, or endowment.

Whether born with talent or acquired along the way, architects are made, not born. We owe their many gifts to their professors, educators and trainers along the way. Everything they need to know they learned in school. No matter how much they are paid — or whether they are paid at all — what architects leave behind outlasts them.

Architects worldwide regularly provide pro-bono services to communities that have survived war, government oppression and natural disasters. We not only get it — we act on it. We knew long before the recent revelation that location of a green project mattered as much — if not more — as the project siting, orientation and inclusion of systems and products.

The world needs more of us — to feel less isolated. Our product — buildings — may be one-offs, but not the way we design or plan them. Architects have given the world the best architecture cities in the world. Imagine if you woke up tomorrow and they had vanished.

Millennium Park and FLW home and studio. No more. Sydney without the Sydney Opera House? The work disappears — but so does its host. Architects create works that are inseparable from their environments —and the way we think about them. People are helped when architecture is democratic. Take the underprivileged.

Three past and present California architects come to mind: Michael Pyatok , David Baker , Charles Moore — all as well-regarded for their exuberance as for their participatory design approaches.

Architects work with what they know, creating a harmonious balance our of disparate parts. As Vitruvius wrote over years ago: An architect should be a good writer, a skillful draftsman, versed in geometry and optics, expert at figures, acquainted with history, informed on the principles of natural and moral philosophy, somewhat of a musician, not ignorant of the law and of physics, nor of the motions, laws, and relations to each other, of the heavenly bodies.

The architect takes it upon herself to continually learn and grow, remaining throughout their career a student not just of architecture but of life.

We want to know it all — everything — and are thirsty for knowledge. Which is a good thing — because we need to know it all. There has been some grumbling that there are now too many architects — software , enterprise, business — and not enough design architects.

The bottom line is this: all architects is alike. We share similar values, obsessions, fixations and interests. We can learn a great deal from each other.

So stop complaining — and join the tribe. Architects design to build — with building in mind. We use words, images and action to get our ideas across and accepted. But in the end, most want to get their designs out in the world, for others to use, live in and among and yes, even critique and judge.

Architects are needed because they can put it all together. Bring it on! Architects are comfortable with ambiguity. Architects matter because they know what they produce will be around for a while — and therefore carry the additional weight of responsibility for their choices and actions. For, as Lord Byron said: A man of eighty has outlived probably three new schools of painting, two of architecture and poetry and a hundred in dress.

Architecture changes a lot less frequently than trends. This means that architects cannot be at the whims of fashion — what we do, what our designs look like, have to make sense and last for many generations. Why settle? Life is too short. If you can give everybody what they need and want — and at the same time, through trickery or talent, perseverance or insight — find a way to deliver more, why not try to do so?

No architect strives to do good enough design — but rather, good design that is enough. Architects try to make the most with what they have and are given — even if it is not expected or asked for. Had they not — the built world would be confined to making shelters. Like Helmut Jahn, we strive for an architecture from which nothing can be taken away. Architecture takes a long time to plan, finance and build.

It requires not only the long view but the vision for the long haul. The architect has the perspective to provide this. Who else on the design or construction team can same the same? Architects not only improve the build world and environment but also design in order to improve processes.

Upstream, downstream and throughout the project — architects follow the flow of movement and energy to and from their projects. Architects know the price of their art — the hard work that goes into it, the sacrifices they make, often impacting their family life and sleep.

We truly are the change we want to see. Architects work hard, very hard, at achieving their goals. FLW said: I know the price of success: dedication, hard work, and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen. Architects are able to think in both business and design terms, to use their design sense to further the business ambitions of their clients. Call it design thinking. Architects are lead ers when it comes to design thinking — the ability to apply design sense to help others with their business needs.

Architects are trained to be creative thinkers. Architects matter because they are there to help their clients succeed. Architects love to help others achieve their goals and reach their dreams and find imaginative ways to help them get there.

Architecture is too broad and deep of a subject to ever really know it all. That tough times may in fact lead to better architecture. This is important because the opposite could occur — where fewer resources result in lesser buildings, less pride of place, and all of us being the lesser for it.

Despite the reputation of some, architects exist to serve others. Except for the occasional architect-designed museum, it is what happens inside their buildings and spaces that matters — not the building itself.

Architecture is basically a container of something. I hope they will enjoy not so much the teacup, but the tea. Yoshio Taniguchi. Architects practice an art that is in the world and also of the world. But at the same time — stands apart — is its own animal. As Thom Mayne has said: Architecture is involved with the world, but at the same time it has a certain autonomy. This autonomy cannot be explained in terms of traditional logic because the most interesting parts of the work are non-verbal.

They operate within the terms of the work, like any art. Architects help people and organizations make their mark on the planet — and do so with the widest appeal and the smallest carbon footprint. For better or worse , the first subject Prince Charles really went for as Prince was architecture.

It made an impact. He was very intent to use his years as Prince of Wales to make his mark and architects helped him to do so. They will at least be responsible, keeping all of the factors in mind.

So make your mark! But we are all born collaborators. Architects are trained and educated to work productively in teams, and despite the current interest in autonomy know that they get the best results when involving all stakeholders and working well with others. This matters because we live in a time of crowdsourcing, of co-creation, of participatory design. Architects are there to work with others to come up with the best solutions for all involved.

Architecture serves to connect us in time — with works from the past, with past civilizations. Helping to locate and place us in time, to provide us with a sense of continuity, help us get our bearings and makes us truly inhabitants of this planet, not just hangers-on. Reason Architects work with a palette of possibility. Architects are concerned not with the necessary but with the contingent — not with how things are but with how they might be.

Reason The work architects perform touches so many parts of life — and of learning. It has so many facets, it can keep a person interested for a lifetime. As Richard Rogers said: I believe very strongly, and have fought since many years ago — at least over 30 years ago — to get architecture not just within schools, but architecture talked about under history, geography, science, technology, art. Attorneys leave law due to burn-out as well as a lack of meaning in their work.

Architects may leave the field for financial reasons, but few if any have done so for lack of what was found there. Architects still believe that their works and deeds can help to heal the places where they are privileged to work.

But the modernists had the absurd idea that architecture could heal the world. And today nobody expects architects to have these grand visions any more. Nobody expects this — except us architects, ourselves.

When a sales rep calls and asks for a decision-maker they hand the phone to an architect. Architects matter because we have to make the hard decisions — thousands of them in every project. Architects are first and last decision-makers. We make the decisions that count. Reason Architects design for the heart as well as the head. Architects create projects and places that affect us emotionally as well as intellectually.

We address the whole person. Architects do what they do because they are passionate about architecture and design. Despite the rigors of school and the relative lack of money to be obtained in the field, architects that have been in the field already for some time do what they do because they love to do it: plain and simple. This assures that we will go the extra mile, which is often necessary, to achieve a successful outcome.

Reason Architects matter because they sign and seal documents. Randy Deutsch AIA, LEED-AP is a building design architect immersed in the worlds of technology, creativity, design thinking and the way all types of architects utilize these tools and processes. He is a professional thought and practice leader, instructor, mentor and writer; public speaker, contributor to magazines, newspapers and blogs, featured in Architectural Record and WTTW.

Therefore, anything you read on this site is not a substitute for actually working with me. Following my casual advice is at your own peril … if you want my undivided attention, I would recommend hiring me. If architects were to disappear tomorrow — who would care? So to say that we matter. To whom exactly? And what for? To feel appreciated and valued, not left-for-dead, abandoned or ignored. Architects can still matter. Why the world still needs architects The reasons that follow may seem like overkill.

A tad bit much. But we need reminding. Really need reminding. Before we can convince anyone else that we matter we must first convince ourselves. And as with most things worth doing, if I had more time there would have been far fewer.

People are not born with an appreciation for architecture. Your employer may not always tell you that you — and the work you do — are valued. It does. And we do. And our interventions. Our ideas and ideals. Think of these as the gifts architects give to society. Reason 2: Architects balance multiple intelligences. Reason 4: Architects are strategists. Reason 6: Architects think laterally and simultaneously — not linearly.

Reason 7: We do more with less. Reason 8: Architects design outdoor spaces. Reason 9: Architects are well-educated. Reason Architects are T-shaped — both deep and wide.

Reason Architects transform chaos into order. Reason Architects give the world meaning. Reason Architects uplift the downtrodden. Reason Architects think differently. Reason Architects are masters of branding. Reason Architects traffic in beauty. Reason Architects provide the wow effect. Reason Architects are technologists, artists and craftsmen.

Reason Architects serve the underprivileged. If not architects, whom else? Reason Architects keep moving the ball forward. Reason Architects are intrinsically motivated. Reason Architects operate from both sides of the brain.

Reason Architects are practical dreamers. Reason Architects get design. Reason Architects involve all of the senses. Reason Architects take ideas and pay it forward — by giving it a twist. Reason Architects are sexy So what? Reason , Architects are problem identifiers. Reason Architects got your back.

While a dire fantasia—a nightmare future Earth where only Antarctica remains habitable—looms over these eight instrumentals, Talibam! Bandcamp Album of the Day Oct 4, Every Country's Sun by Mogwai. Probably my favorite album opener. Tied between this and White Noise! Bandcamp Daily your guide to the world of Bandcamp.

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