As a technology advocate I’ve watched with interest the many changes to our industry over the last 34 years.  The tools used today in the practice of architecture bear little resemblance to those in use when I was an intern.  Below are a few observations about the influences, trends, and how we as architects intersect with and use technology.  Apologies up front for wandering around a bit.

I believe one of the most overused and least understood words in architectural practice today is Quality.  Firms speak of quality, we write about it in RFQ’s, but do we really understand what it is or what constitutes quality service from the perspective of our clients and how to provide it on a consistent basis? 

Firms use a variety of metrics to measure their financial performance and behavior.  The most common is profitability – did we make more money than we spent doing the work.  This is usually determined by looking at the value of the hours spent versus the net project fee. 

I spent the first week of December in Las Vegas at Autodesk University 2015, also known as AU.  Along with showcasing Autodesk’s products, it’s a great venue to glimpse the latest technologies for about every facet of the “making” industry – be it planes, buildings, or manufactured products.

The application of Lean Thinking principles has significantly impacted the manner by which buildings are constructed.  Surprisingly, design side delivery methodologies remain largely unchanged except some institutional projects utilizing IPD approaches.  Why is that?

Several years ago I peer reviewed a large hospital project during the Schematic Design phase.  This entailed sitting down with a progress set of drawings to look at the overall scope of work, life safety basics, and to ask about the building systems we anticipated using.