SPECIALIZATION IS DUMB!

 In today's world of the built environment, it is becoming ever too common for building design to become so similar that they all blur together. This comes from a ladder of reasons, from the desires of the clients (greedy developers) at the top, to the architects, all the way down to the painters.

Beginning with developers, the American Dream of capitalism has led to the people that have the means and money to fund new buildings to hold the reigns of the reindeer driving the sled. A majority of the time, they do not care where Rudolph (us architects because we're the main characters DUH!) direct the design as long as they still make money. If taking a right has always earned them the largest profit, they do not care what opportunities for societal success that taking a left may bear.

But Rudolph is at fault too. Why is he always using a red light instead of a blue? It is sad how much firms are driven by the same chase of money that the developers are. We too, follow the money (and trust me, as sad as it is for me to admit, I'm chasing the money). During my search for jobs, it was disappointing to me to see how drastic of a difference in salary there was between a firm that did community projects that I felt made a difference in the world, and the firms that worked for the evil developers. In a perfect world, everyone would be making the same amount (if not more for those that impact the community).

And finally, the builders. Somewhere along the line, the artists who build the spaces we inhabit, have fallen from a true craft, to being whatever way is the cheapest method being used. Client's themselves can be at fault here, along with the contractors, as they are always looking to save money and will go with builders that are the cheapest.

In order to combat all this, every step of the ladder must change. The builders must take more pride in their work, and return to the status of artists. The architects must refute the desires of clients for them to design the same building that has been successful in the past over and over again. And finally, the clients must realize that the users of buildings are more important than the money that the buildings make.