Submitted by the SmithGroup
Detroit, MI – As the oldest continually operating architecture and engineering firm in the country, SmithGroup has seen many changes in the world of design. The firm is always focused on its mission to Design a Better Future.
In order to get a broad perspective on what the future might look like, the firm recognized that there was no better resource to tap than its team of 1,300 design professionals whose expertise stretches across a wide breadth of disciplines. Insights came from entry-level designers to the firm’s most senior leaders and everyone in between, leading to a vision that anticipates major drivers for design in the decade ahead:
Design and Technology
Like most professions, technology has had a major impact on design. This will increase at a more rapid pace in the decade ahead and will affect every stage of the design process.
At the early stages of design, “visualization tools will become more realistic and immersive, leading to a future where collaboration between the owner, contractor, and designers will be far more integrated,” predicts Wayne Barger, health practice director.
As automation and the Internet of Things (IoT) continue to grow, designers are looking at how they can enable the experience that people have in the built environment and find ways to make buildings more responsive to occupants. “The connected environment along with personal technologies will provide ever-increasing customization for occupants,” says chief information officer, Derek White.
All of this technology leaves designers with tremendous amounts of data, yet most firms are just beginning to figure out what to do with it. “Those firms that can identify the most creative ways to visualize and simplify increasingly inordinate amounts of diverse data down to its most essential insights will be the ones to emerge as leaders within this new decade,” says Lauren Leighty, a landscape architect and campus studio leader in the firm’s Ann Arbor office.
Design and Climate
As designers who are influencing the built environment for years to come, it will be critical to ensure that all voices are heard. “Our industry must widen the net of inclusion. Design affects all of us, and must be made by all of us,” says John Moorhead, architect in the firm’s Boston office.
While technology holds a high degree of promise for the design industry, the issue of climate change presents a tremendous risk in the decade ahead. “All designers will need to become more adept at understanding challenges that are not only faced by our individual discipline, but that touch multiple disciplines and require a truly integrated approach,” says Jessica Janzen, an architect in Dallas.
The way that energy resources are used needs to continue to evolve – practices that are the exception will become the norm. “Everything we design in 2020 and beyond should be net-zero energy or net-zero energy capable, achieving the maximum energy efficiency possible while being designed to accommodate future renewable systems,” says Greg Mella, corporate director of sustainability.
“Buildings will have to be self-sustaining, regenerative and adaptable to human needs while still harmonious with the natural environment and the changes it brings with it,” asserts Sven Shockey, corporate design director in the Washington, D.C. office.