1 April 2019

Last week I was privileged to facilitate a far reaching breakfast conversation with the future of our profession, bringing together representatives of our Student Network (SONA) and Emerging Architects + Graduates Network (EmAGN), our heads of the Architecture Schools, a few graduate and soon to be registered architects to listen to their concerns, issues of relevance and to where they believe the Profession is heading.

In the practice of the everyday we tend to lose sight of where we are, of what has been and of where are we going. As in many aspects of business and indeed life, we can sometimes be belligerent in our manner if the views do not accord with our own.

Organisational and membership policies are generally framed by senior and executive members to reflect what they believe is the future direction, guided primarily by the way we currently do things. In a rapidly changing mode of practice guided by visualisation technology, instant response, environmental and sustainable social values if we are to maintain relevance, then perhaps we need time to pause and listen to our future.

Sometimes the voice of the emerging is seen as token, contributing “correctly” to the diversity of the committee structure, but my experience suggests that sometimes their voice gets lost or is seen as adjunct rather than contributory to framing future policy. This can lead students and graduates to turn to or form their own structures of support rather than being part of the evolution of the Profession.

In a far-reaching conversation having regard to University programs, workplace and practice, the following commentary was noted as a sample:

–      connecting to a mentor over the University period is seen as an invaluable resource

–      concern that graduates are not workplace ready, perhaps a format for a transition year that bridges the gap

–      a more diverse curriculum to reflect the changing role in graduates not exclusive to the practice of architecture

–      low paid graduate salaries in comparison to other professions

–      concern about the hours expected to be put in and the impact on this having regard to health and family life

–      challenges facing gender in architecture practice and the family unit

–      workplace flexibility in hours + place

–      professional development within the workplace – not purely after hours

–      supporting paid internships

–      seeking a support network that transitions between emerging and established practices.

 

Many of these items are not new, albeit they have probably been around for too long without activation and I can already hear the catchcry in regard to…. “when I”…. “it works both ways”…. and “we already provide these services”….

The common message here, regardless of subjective dismissal, is that it is evident that we need to better connect, support and listen to frame a more inclusive network from our first day at University to giving a little back to the profession (some may say wisdom and guidance) as we move through differing stages of our professional life.

For many Universities, Practices and Representative Groups this may require a cultural change in attitude and structure, perhaps a different business model, perhaps it is a long overdue correction for our professional sustainability that will be reflected by the mutual needs of the employer + employees, not the need in the chase to the bottom for fees.  Perhaps it is part of the restructuring and reform of the profession that will accord without a world of novation and partial services that is topical at the moment.

Practices, and many already have, that listen to these concerns and adapt their workplaces are going to be sought after and attract the best personnel. We also need to consider a response having regard to the size of the practice and how it is able to support these workplace needs. Will it end in a greater divide between small and large practices and create a missing middle ground….?

One of the most telling and at the same time, I must say joyful, part of the conversation was the appetite and hunger to hear more from our local architects and indeed the established members of the profession about the everyday experiences of practice over the years.

The passing down of architectural conversations and folklore that framed the development of our State, to endeavour to understand our design culture that has influenced our City and allows us to both celebrate our contribution but also acknowledging the mistakes that have been made.

A simple notion, but one that allows us to frame a conversation pit that informs our built environment and cultural heritage embedded in the design history in this State, understanding a contribution to the identity of our City. I would suggest a cultural overlay that has largely been ignored in informing any new or reform Policy in this State from both a Planning and Heritage perspective; local knowledge archived and lost in translation.

It appears to be more than just a call for the visit to a studio once a year, but to engage more, passing on the storytelling, which is so important in understanding our design heritage. An opportunity to come together to engage in dialogue, to strengthen an inherent understanding of our regional design culture and identity of our State and City and involve multi-generational involvement in the Institute.

I will, over the next few months, endeavour to formulate a program that reflects the storytelling of South Australian Architecture and I invite you all to join + host the discussion.

 

Sometimes the spoken word is far more reaching than any exhibition material on an easel, open to interpretation without emotion.

Tony Giannone
SA Chapter President