Read some of Kazys Varnelis’ recent writings, especially where is the good new architecture? and it will put you in the same funk I am in.
Can you refute that architecture as a profession is distinctly broken now? We made a go of it as lapdogs to developers building condos, shopping centers, and whole cities in oil-producing states. While Dubai aspires to turn green, both development money and oil profits are gone, with the world facing a prolonged period of Super Contango. We are just at the beginning of the precipice, and there is much more pain to be felt before we find the bottom.
This much I am sure of: I doubt that I will personally build anything of substance in the next 18 months. Which is fine; most of my recent work has focused on smaller installations and spaces which top out at 10,000 square feet. This isn’t what concerns me about this recession or my place in it. My concern is what’s next?
The fundamental question we have to face is, can paper (digital) design move the profession forward? And can I eat while doing this work? Whither this generation’s New York Five? Or the response by Venturi, et al?
How this recession shapes the profession is still an unwritten book; to be sure, there will be for quite some time, too many architects chasing too few jobs, and making not enough money. Where will we all go?
I’m going to open up comments to see what you have to say.
What are you going to do?