Architecture is about people, not buildings. This was one of the first lessons I was taught in architecture school. It spoke to me and shaped my view of the discipline. However, over the years, I realised that the adage was more extroverted than introspective. Architects are adept at identifying the needs and desires for whom an architecture is for, but often fail at doing the same for the people whom the architecture is produced by. The industry is rife with exploitation. In a time of multiple crises, this is extremely problematic and stifles real progress from being made.

How did it get to this point? Architecture school is infamously rigorous, uncompromising as well as expensive. In the architectural journey, it is the first of many gatekeepers, fortifying the barrier to entry and impeding newcomers. If you succeed in obtaining your degree(s), you are then faced with another gatekeeper: the job market. Graduation is a ticket to exploitation. Architecture is a cult of overwork, and it comes with low pay and appalling work hours regarded as standard in the industry. The architectural production process is unrewarding and unfriendly, detached from the utopia that architectural workers are trained to design for others. It is not that architects are inherently evil, but they find themselves enslaved to a broken system. A system that forces them to succumb to low, or even no fees, for the work they produce.

Why is it bad? Like other industries, architecture faces a slew of issues, such as unfettered capitalism and the climate crisis. However, architecture has a distinct ability to convert these threats into opportunities, depending on how we decide to go forward. ****The issues are ****complex and multidimensional. They cannot be solved by sole saviours but require critical intervention on a collective level. It is important then that the industry be open and inclusive to allow for a diverse workforce. A legacy of gatekeeping repels talent and inadvertently insulates the industry from constructive criticism.

What are people doing about it? Those who haven’t retrained to pursue alternative careers are seeking alternative ways to practice architecture, desperate to escape the elitist and extractive legacy. The call to unionise the profession has been getting louder too, as we play catchup to the likes of legal or medical professionals. This issue is not endemic to any geography either, with workers across the globe experiencing common struggles. Architectural workers are equipped with a myriad of skills and are inherently optimistic folk. They must, however, act with more urgency and solidarity.

We must remind ourselves that architecture is first and foremost about people, not profit.

Architects need to do better with introspection, activism and accepting criticism. We must recognise the value we can provide with our architectural training, sans ego. To create critical and impactful architecture, we must listen to and care for the people we share that responsibility with, whether they are architects or not. The days of starchitects and hero worship are over. Architecture must celebrate the collective.

<aside> ✨ Originally submitted to New Architecture Writers on January 1st 2022

</aside>