AIA Thom Mayne Response on Integrated Practice

Thom Mayne, principal of Morphosis is a firm instigator of cycling out what he calls antiquity and nursing BIM processing for architectural practice and design. Mayne, views traditional as styling, and making to be where the field is headed. Maybe believes the future is here, and its our responsibility to welcome new company with both arms. Mayne believes the line between architect and contractor is blurred, and through BIM processing, architects are becoming master architects, similar to several generations ago. Architects are expected to carry out more responsibility, more knowledge expected to be learned regarding construction. Mayne in his speech reflects on his firm introducing the computer with no doubt in his mind he made the wrong choice. It was an integral key in our survival he says, a move that would revolutionize the firm.

The proctor of the discussion prose’s Mayne with this question, “ What one message should every practicing architect take home from this weekend?”

                    Mayne replies, straight to the point, “ Survival, if you want to survive, your going to have to change. If you don’t change, you’re going to perish.” He later goes into saying, “ You will not practice architecture if your not up to speed with this.” I’m sure when he gave the speech over a decade ago, the room was probably roaring with commotion. People don’t like change that causes inconveniences. Im sure if I were in that room, I would have thought Mayne to be a fool. But Mayne, trusted his gut, and saw this as the only way the profession would advance into the age of technology. Mayne proposed the jump, would bring architects back as builders,  not the cake decorators and florists the profession is sinking deeper and deeper into. Mayne challenged the future of everyone in that room to take ownership for their work and be part of their work. I’m really impressed just having read the speech, I wish I was there to hear it, because im sure he got a lot of negative feedback from his proposal.

After having completed my undergraduate career at the University of Maryland, I press forward to graduate school. I study my competition from the nearby rival schools, Virginia Tech, Penn State, Syracuse, UVA and see student who have been instructed and taught to design digitally vs. with a may line, the tool all Maryland Architecture graduates blame for the lack of experience in the digital frontier.  I forward Mayne’s topic, even a decade after it was first delivered, UMD and other schools for that matter need to revolutionize the way they think and in turn teach their future architects in the fast growing world of computer generated design.