Traditionally I have used this column to reflect on topics of interest or contention for our profession. I’ll grant that at just over four months its not one of the western world’s most long standing traditions, but brevity of our collective history aside, this column is different to the others.

In this column, I will use a few short words to bestow upon each and every member of our Institute the opportunity to positively change our profession forever. I’ll bestow it upon you, and I expect no thank you, no payment, no reward… I just expect you to invest in it.

Whenever the Institute engages with membership about what we ‘should’ be doing for them, one of the guaranteed inclusions is a desire to build the profile of architecture and the respect for architects in our community.  It’s a simple aim and the benefits could be profound, perhaps for architects, but more importantly for our community who would live, work, learn and recreate in a greater number of better conceived and better delivered buildings and spaces.

It’s about building profile and capital, and for that reason reminds me about trying to build wealth…and that reminds me about the only personal wealth book I have ever read… by Paul Clitheroe… and he said (with significant paraphrasing, possibly faulty recollection and my personal interpretation)… that the most important thing is not whether you choose shares, property, futures etc….the most important thing is actually just to save something and then invest it.

And that’s how I see us building capital in our profession. The most important thing is to do something. Not to talk about what we should, could or would do, but to actually ‘do’. And in a remarkable confluence, we have on our plate an easy, enjoyable and immensely penetrating publicity vehicle just waiting for us to do something with it. It’s called “Architects In Schools”, and thanks to a reinvigoration of our Education Committee and Subcommittee it’s coming to a school near you very soon.

I’ve done it, and I willingly inhaled.

I prepared a simple slide show comparing the human body with a building  – you know – lungs for ventilation, bones for structure, skin for facade etc. I took 3 sets of VR goggles to East Adelaide Primary and I had one of the most enjoyable and rewarding 2 hours of my life with my son, his immediate and adjacent classmates. I’ll be back there as soon as I can for some Year 5’s and 6’s.

The kids were truly inspiring and invigorating, but the compounding interest in this equation was the conversations I had with other soccer parents the following few Saturdays. They weren’t about cafes, or the Crows, or even the latest schoolyard scandal – they were about ARCHITECTURE!

Children had gone home and families had talked about ARCHITECTURE, what we do, who we can help, and what it can achieve.

Usually if someone offers you a small cap investment returning 300% on top of capital growth you are a brave day trader having a crazy dream. 

We have one here – very limited investment, huge return and there is nothing to lose!

It’s easy, its fun and if we had 900 Architects a year talking to say two class groups of 26… that’s 46,800 students going home to say…. a nuclear family of 4… which makes 187,200 people talking about ARCHITECTURE!

Wow – that’s compounding interest.

I suggest you send the Institute an email and volunteer yourself. Our subcommittee is finalising templates and guidelines making your job even easier. If you have a child, niece, nephew or other special little person at school I suggest you volunteer that school and help to arrange the contact – you will be surprised how willing they are to embrace you.

This is the investment of the century and I’m pretty sure Paul would agree.

Mario Dreosti
SA Chapter President