We brought together some of the most stimulating and thought provoking comment pieces in 2023 - take a look at what our columnists had to say
Architecture is an industry where ideas matter. Every week we bring together some of the most original comment from across the sector.
From experts in climate adaptation to leading practitioners in housing and commercial development, BD is where architects and friends of the profession come to share their thoughts on the big issues.
This year Amin Taha challenged the industry to wise up on carbon calculations, and Peter Sofoluke made a rallying cry for improved diversity and access within the profession.
Meanwhile, Joe Holyoak lamented the loss of a much loved Staffordshire landmark, while Satish Jassal highlighted the cuthroat culture of undercutting on fees.
Below are just a handful of the top-read opinion pieces from BD in 2023.
Take a look for yourself.
The Crooked House is gone. It can’t be reinvented
Any attempt to rebuild the Crooked House would merely produce a ‘worthless fake’, writes Joe Holyoak.
Architecture is a business. So why don’t architects act like business people?
Employers should stop expecting their staff to work unpaid overtime out of love for their jobs, and start putting their businesses on a proper commercial footing, write Jake Rudin and Erin Pellegrino.
Tomorrow’s architect today: Why we need to proactively reach out to young people and open up new routes to qualifying
Peter Sofoluke on how alternative education routes are reimagining access to the architectural profession, improving diversity, and challenging the status quo.
If architects want to command respect, and higher fees, they must learn to better articulate the true value of what they do, writes Eleanor Jolliffe.
Architects won’t save the planet
The belief that architecture can save the world from environmental disaster is just a grandiose delusion. Much better that architects focus on what they can control, writes Robert Adam.
We’ve come a long way, but women architects still don’t have equality
Women still face barriers to entry and advancement within the profession, writes Urna Sodnomjamts.
Architecture’s culture of cut-throat competition is bad for everyone
Undercutting on fees and a culture of giving away work for free is not sustainable, writes Satish Jassal.
Is architecture a ‘greedy’ profession?
‘Greedy’ professions demand more time over and above what might otherwise be expected, and contribute towards the gender pay gap, writes Louise Rodgers.
How much carbon does your building weigh?
Knowing material properties, their cost, thermal performance, and embodied carbon is how architects can regain agency for better client and broader social outcomes, writes Amin Taha.
This Stirling shortlist is in tune with the times
The final six projects in contention for this year’s prize are all marked by an underlying seriousness and a tendency towards simple forms and materials, writes Ben Flatman.
Postscript
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