Photo from In Loughborough

Our children are our future. So the saying goes, and according to what we see, young architects are actively engaging in the construction of the world of tomorrow. Michael Cummings and Jennifer Thomé caught with up a handful of budding architects to learn about their vision for the future.

“Beijing is a unique platform to begin a career as a young architect. A lot of major projects being worked on now are not only monumental in size but are also designed on empty cities with no context, “boom towns” being built from ground up waiting to house its’ future inhabitants. However, the breadth of opportunity lies not in the scale of the project but in the fact that the rapidly developing country yearns to make an identity for its coming age. Appropriately, as China struggles to find that identity, architects also struggle with this reality in their designs. Western architects strive to make a modern mark in the city that achieves the latest architectural trend whilst Chinese clients still covet for art deco towers and Greek temple like structures. In the end, China is a large clusterf*ck of different theories and ideological experiments in architecture, with no one to say what is right and what is wrong.” –Jennifer Ha, Architect at Urbanus Architecture and Design

“It is not so much what trends are developing in the field of architecture but what trends generated by society will take hold within the field of architecture and how architects define, clarify and purify those trends. It’s no secret to anyone that architecture plays an important role in the implementation of the ‘green movement’ in our cities or that digital technologies have allowed architects to create and build forms previously unimaginable.” –Scott Alan Johnson, Architect at Architecture Studio

“Trends depend on current events and possibilities. With the recent economic crisis the construction market has stagnated and is now recovering slowly. Instead of big projects, especially in Europe and the US, it’s easier to find private clients asking for small projects, such as renovations or family residences. This brings a deeper study of the human scale and a higher quality product. And consequently, not enough money in our pockets. On the other hand, BRIC countries still want to show off, building the biggest and tallest buildings as a feudal highest tower competition, but also giving us the possibility to build our worst fantasies.” –Achille Tortini, Architect at MAD Architect

“Sustainability is dominating the architectural discussion right now. Even in China where the rate of demand for immediate design and construction is so accelerated, both clients and architects are emphasizing the necessity of sustainable design.” –Rose Disarno, Architect at Atkins

“Our field has many overlaps with landscape design, urban design, and even art installation. So I would say I see the realm of design expanding to encompass parts of our built environment that were previously regarded as utilitarian or simply engineering. Engineering is great except the problem is that engineering deals with mostly inhuman factors, like wind loads, number of automobiles, hydrostatic pressure, etc. If you look at the Guomao intersection you can see exactly what I am talking about. Everything that is built within Guomao was designed by an engineer. It is sized for cars, subway vents, electrical transformers, etc. However it is very ugly and difficult for people to use. The hand of an architect or landscape designer is not present, so the space is inhuman and unpleasant. In the future designers and architects will not only be collaborating on the buildings, but they will be collaborating closely with engineers and planners on everything in between.” –Daniel Gass, Director at Ballistic Architecture Machine 

What’s your biggest worry about the future of architecture?

“I don’t really worry too much about the future of architecture—it seems very bright. But I suppose architecture faces the same social problems we all face in the future: too many people, too few resources, and in some countries like the US and China taking care of an ageing population.” –Daniel

“Thanks to parametric design we can plan every kind of building, play with every possible shape; but construction techniques are often not as updated as design possibilities. This leads to a loss of control on the building process and as a consequence to a lower quality of architecture.” –Achille 

“Many factors contribute poorly constructed buildings, not the least of which are the untrained workers constructing them and the use of cheap materials, but I see the pace of construction as being the primary problem. I commend China for bring millions of people out of poverty through these construction booms, but in the process skyscrapers are being built that will have only a fraction of the useful lifespan that buildings in developed nations would have. In my opinion, despite this significantly lowering my job prospects, ha, I think it would be to society’s benefit if building slowed down here just a bit to make sure things are more often done right. It pains me as an architect to see a building that was obviously slaved over by someone to produce a beautiful and functional design falling to pieces at an important urban intersection, and it’s probably only five years old!” –Scott

“Having worked in Beijing for over a year, I’ve noticed some general trends in which some architects take in their approach toward architecture in China. There is a general consensus among Chinese architects where architecture should cling to the traditions of its culture. Architecture becomes about traditional building materials, walled spatial sequences, and/or relationship of buildings to landscape. Other architects prefer to take advantage of China’s experimental construction grounds and toil in the study of parametric curves and blob forms. The last apparent trend is to make architecture into “a big bold move” such as lifting a building off the ground to create a plaza. Architecture becomes a simple idea and is clearly ascertainable. As of now, there is no right or wrong architectural approach in China. The energy in the country’s development only urges us to keep experimenting.” –Jennifer

“The economic state of the world has put a freeze on architecture virtually world wide, stagnating the job market and permanently altering the field for current and future generations of architects. This being the first recession of my career, I’m interested to see how the field of design will bounce back as a response to the financial crisis. Right now offices throughout the west are taking projects in China that are exploded in scale and budget. But as the economy improves, how will architects approach a new era of conservatism and speculation that most certainly be on the minds of clients and developers?” –Rose