What does it mean to be an architect today? What are the conditions for practicing this profession? In the series "The Profession of Architect" we address these two questions to Polish architects and female architects, and illustrate the statements with unrealized office projects. In today's installment of the series - Krystian Wawer, from Horizone Studio.
Krystian Wawer
© Horizone Studio
1 What does it mean to be an architect today?
Probably everyone has a different idea about the definition of the architectural profession. For me, an architect practicing in the second decade of the 21st century, at the core of the meaning of the word "architect" is, above all, the ability to understand the reality around us and respond with the right solutions to the challenges we face. Today's world is immersed in constant momentum, the development of technology, changing philosophies of life resulting from the struggle for ecology and the power of the Internet, etc. Wanting to continue to design and organize spaces for people, an architect must understand today's world and ensure that it is constantly in his grasp.
2 What are the conditions for practicing as an architect?
Newer and newer requirements are being placed before the architect due to a number of factors, and the architectural profession itself has also undergone major changes in recent years. A major influence here has been the increasing demand for residential, office, retail, service and other spaces. Many factors have forced changes in the thinking of both investors and their potential clients. Architects must therefore follow these changes and keep up with them.
It is also worth mentioning that the development of building information modeling - BIM - has had a huge impact on the workshop. We were faced with the need to assimilate the skills of working in the new software and the following change in the philosophy of thinking about design: 3D, 4D and 5D models became the basis of work, displacing the already archaic 2D drawing. This factor has another important aspect - it is a visible change in the labor market: employees proficient in BIM are increasingly valued and sought after, and not necessarily skilled in design and space planning alone. All of the above-mentioned factors are further compounded by administrative changes and increasing legal and technological requirements resulting from a growing awareness of caring for the environment.
While it used to be said that an architect must have knowledge of architecture and urban planning, construction, art history or perhaps even psychology, today he or she must also be familiar with issues relating to economics, law in its broadest sense, information technology, ecology, management and administration, sociology.
With all of this, it is also essential to maintain within oneself a creative dreamer who is able to infect others with his visions and ideas, crossing further barriers and limits of imagination.
Krystian WAWER
Horizone Studio
