Looking forward after a decade of growth

by Lora Teagarden, AIA

As we come to the end of another year, and decade, it’s important to reflect on how practice has changed and the direction we’d like to guide the profession moving forward. A very brief recap of topics from our Connection articles over the past decade include frequent conversations around ideas like:

• Collaboration
• Sustainability and Resiliency
• Architectural Education
• Soft Skills
• Globalization to local grassroots
• Advocacy
• Professional advancement and Mentorship
• Value Proposition
• Ethics and Equity
• Practice Innovation

Some of these topics have been around for a long time and take new shapes in a cyclical manner. Some of them are only now getting the spotlight they deserve.

We spent the last year researching, presenting, and discussing ideas for innovative practice models. As the economy continues to flex, and new brains and personalities enter the workforce, these questions will not go away, but hopefully will instead continue to foster and evolve much like architecture has.

A key takeaway is that all of these ideas not only foster, but also require, an equitable workplace and equitable built space. It’s a positive continuum: the more we focus on collaboration with every voice at the table to create a design that considers everyone, the more those ideas become rooted in architecture as normal. The more we create spaces that consider not only the sensitive geography of place and its local population, but also the most vulnerable aspects of those things, the more resilient the place becomes to future disasters of both the economic and natural variety. The more we work together within our firms, across consultant teams, and alongside our communities to improve communication and provide voices and space for all to be heard, the more a team and community come alive. A person who feels heard and seen feels valued. They in turn invest more of themselves and their time into bettering an idea, office, or design. They give more of themselves in their community. They advocate for others needing amplification.

Similarly, practice innovation is not only a sound business strategy that allows architects to navigate more resiliently through economic shifts, but it’s also equitable. If all of the varied ways one can be an architect are not valued - let alone even represented - how can an architect, or 5th-grader considering becoming one, begin to envision a life and career that works for them? Our role is that of shepherd and steward - for an idea, design, building, or community - navigating the problem-solving process to improve the spaces we all live, work, and play. Equity is embedded in that idea. We can’t solve for all without it.

As we wrap up a decade of growth here at the YAF, we turn optimistically to 2020. Our passionate team of young architects will continue to work tirelessly to advocate for issues that impact our peers, our clients, and our communities. We look to each other, and to you, as our fellow stewards. We learn together, we grow together, and we create our future together. For everyone.

Lora Teagarden, AIA

Lora is a project architect at RATIO in Indianapolis, Ind., a published author, and business owner. She is a 2017 Young Architect Award winner and the 2019 Chair of the YAF.