I believe that building influence online is the future of architectural practice.

Fast forward to a not distant date; it may be that some buildings are designed and engineered digitally, “built” before the ground is even broken – all in view of a watching public. When construction begins, its process is monitored, explained and documented – also for public consumption. The hidden dramas of architecture are revealed to an untapped audience.

This is the nuptial promise of networked BIM technology and decentralized media advertising.

Still near-future: a potential client watchs an episode of Mad Men and then dial up Frank Gehry’s premium content (or that of any architect who has packaged his ongoing story via text and image). Stories of creation and teamwork, hardship and failure, make for great drama. The one providing these stories will influence the public audience and enhance the state of the profession. This is marketing writ large.

I’ll say it again. Building influence online is the future of architectural practice.

Now, back to the present:

• What can an underemployed architect do now to reach this future where what he or she has been trained to do is understood and valued?
• What can a struggling firm do now to cultivate viewers, followers, subscribers – “pre-clients” awaiting the new economy?
• What can strapped professional associations do now to raise the perceptual tide that buoys all the boats?

What can be done now to build influence online? Launch and maintain a professional blog!

That’s what Building Content is about. Coaching and encouraging architects to tell their unique story with a professional blog; to begin to build influence online.  Come back as I roll out the revised “Building Content”  – we can build architectural influence together.

Image via Wikipedia

 As a member of the press team for Coverings 2010, the first event was a behind-the-scenes tour of the Disney property with a twenty-one year veteran “cast member”. The theme for the afternoon: Disney by Design.

Most of us have gleaned stories of the over the years of the Disney, his talents his vision and the World he created. His hired architects and corporate successors too have generated some tales that have become legend. I was glad to be on hand to hear them again first hand.

I will follow this update shortly with a list of fun facts I learned or relearned from this tour.

Image by Fraochsidhe via Flickr

    PLEASE STAY TUNED. . .

I know I’m not the only one.

Some troubling numbers have crossed my screen lately (and you’ve probably seen them via my Tweets @collier1960). These numbers include #1; the position of the architectural profession on a recent list of hardest hit job sectors, based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics (Top-Nine List) .

Another disconcerting number is 41,000; the total of U.S. architectural jobs lost in the first three quarters of 2009.

Then there’s the number 17.8, which is the percentage of architectural unemployment corresponding to the thousands of lost jobs.

Another percentage number, 13.4, is the anticipated decline in U.S. construction activity in 2010, according to the AIA Consensus Construction Forecast.

And there is similar poor news in Britain, according to the Architects Journal .

Happy New Year

 Well, enough is enough, right? It’s time for a new beginning. Let us use the idiosyncrasies of the Gregorian calendar – by which we call this a New Year – and set about to make some positive change.

• If you are unemployed or underemployed, what are you going to do differently this year?
• If you are working on your own, how are you planning to overcome in 2010?
• If you own or manage a firm, same question…

 Please share your resolutions to make the coming 12 months better than the last 12.

One of the oft-repeated bits of advice shared on line, especially when it comes to blogging, is to be authentic.

• From a branding point of view, “To truly be yourself means to have no competition.”
• From a coaching standpoint; “They don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”
• From a writing position; “Write what you know!”

The call to authenticity is not new to the Internet. We’ve been encouraged to embrace and proclaim our individuality all our lives, from Mr. Rodgers to Dr. Pepper. And long before that was the Shakespearean adage;

 “to thine own self be true,

And it must follow, as the night the day,

Thou canst not then be false to any man.”

Because the Internet was suspected early as being populated by unsavory scammers, schemers and predators, and because even those with good intent start out online as unsubstantiated, we bloggers need to strive for transparency. This work can be subtle at times. Honestly, it is perhaps easier to misrepresent oneself online than it is to be whole, accurate and true – hence the repeated calls to be authentic.

•   Α  &  Ω   •

I’ve said all that to say this – my authentic self is more than merely my brand, “Architect and Author.” I am these things specifically as a follower of Christ, as a new man created in His image. The scriptures identify Jesus as the builder and maker of all things and as the author and finisher of our faith. It is my calling to reflect these specific aspects of His nature – when I design and write professionally I intentionally do so to honor God and to serve others.

There is a wonderful line in the movie Chariots of Fire, when Eric Liddell explains to his missionary-minded sister about his calling as a world class runner, “God has made me for a purpose, for China; but He has also made me fast, and when I run I feel His pleasure.” In that vein I believe God has made me to express his creativity, and to share in His pleaseure through designing and writing. Architect and Author.

That is who I am, authentically. To downplay it would be untrue to myself and to my God. To embrace and proclaim it moves me toward the goal of being “not… false to any man.”

Have you thought through your calling, your mission, your purpose? I encourage you to do so and integrate the unique individual who you truly are into all you do online. And please, as always, feel free to comment here.