As a Principal you have a role in shaping the future of architectural practice. What are your priorities?
EG: The speed and access to information, especially visual information, is producing a situation where we’re all swimming in the same soup and it’s driving a homogenization of design and the built environment that at best is frustrating and at worst risks a loss of authenticity. As architects, being thorough and rigorous as we investigate the situations presented to us, and being clear how our approaches relate to what’s essential and unique to each client and site is ever more crucial. And this ties back to collaboration as the place where authentic responses to conditions of a particular project will emerge.
The technological tools can be a double-edged sword in this regard. They help us to streamline our process to make room for this investigation, but BIM modeling in particular wants to rush towards a level of specificity that can box in a design prematurely. I’m really interested in how technology can continue to strengthen rather than short circuit our design process because it will affect the future of collaboration, building performance, our culture as an office, and ultimately, the quality of our work.