Over the past year, we had the opportunity to research the following marketplace trends and how they might affect the profession of architecture. We presented our findings in AIArchitect, and can now offer you a linked set of articles on the following concepts:

1. Reintermediation: We explored the trend of reintermediation—the bringing together of people and knowledge (Jan 2001)—which in architects' terms means integrating the client's business strategy into a holistic design practice.

2. "ARCHITECTURE": Along this avenue, we contrasted the practice of "architecture," which focuses on creation of an object (a building) to ARCHITECTURE, an overarching framework integrating the creative design process in which architecture is performed. (Oct 2000)

3. Client's strategy: One can choose to morph from a firm committed to the client's project to a firm providing a wider range of client's services and finally to a firm totally responsible for the client's strategy. (Jan 2001) We learned that each firm first needs to determine what business they really are in or what business they want to pursue.

4. Strategy architecture: Strategy architecture (March 2001) is a process in which a firm's business strategy drives the firm's actions. It is based in continuously improving the firm's knowledge base and aligning the firm's knowledge management with its business strategy.

5. Innovation: Reinvention calls for innovation and looks at current events through the eyes of the client and the broader marketplace. We realize that the "object" (the building) only has value when it connects to the "content", (the strategy, technology, functionality, and economics) of the client and user. Innovation (April 2001), as defined by management guru Peter Drucker, is a process in which an entrepreneur creates new (or endows existing) resources with enhanced potential for creating wealth.

6. Trusted advisor: All the concepts above come together in the premise that the architect is being asked to be the "trusted advisor" of the client. (May 2001). The future of the profession hangs on the mutual understanding of the "value proposition" between the client and the architect.

7. Implementation resources: We are now moving from the "what if" to the "how" (Feb 2001). How is the profession being defined? We are past the "whether" to the implementation resources needed to carry out the revitalization.

From redefinition to revitalization
Remember the key principles of the AIA's redefinition of the profession, which we began exploring in 1996? Briefly stated, they recognize a profession that is increasingly value- and knowledge-based. The "redefined" profession, in fact, is experiencing a cultural and attitudinal shift that:
• Goes beyond projects
• Includes a wide range of services and responsibilities
• Is based on a relationship approach
• Is performed through the facility and client's life cycle
• Centers on the architect's role as client facilitator and integrator.

We must connect the dots between the theory of redefinition and the reality of revitalization. To do so, we are listening to architects who are reinventing the profession every day, and asking them:
• What are the trends and drivers of change in your marketplace, and how do they manifest in the particular markets in which you are providing leadership?
("Marketplace" is the broader environment-the political, social, and economic context-that affects the world in which we practice. Markets are demands for commodities and service, made up of implications coming from the broader environment.)
• What value, what services, currently and in the future are you contributing and referencing as you provide leadership in understanding value related to your markets?
("Value" is the service provided by the architect on behalf of the client/user/community. It is the benefit assigned by the client to a process, leading up to and through a project. One needs to define value accurately to bring purpose and mission to a transaction.)
• What knowledge, skill sets, and talents do architects provide currently, and what new applications are possible in the future?
(Knowledge, skills, talent, and competencies are what one brings to create value in the marketplace. Understanding the needs and values of clients today, what skill sets and talents do architects need to apply?)

So, how do we delve into the value and service architects bring to today's marketplace so we can in turn align with the markets and the knowledge the profession needs to have? We talk to architects who are doing it every day, that's how.

Copyright 2001 The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved.