Collaborative Architecture.

While it is impossible to predict what architecture will look like in the future, the conditions that will shape the creation of future architecture is relatively clear. The role of the star architect who controls and designs every component of the building is disappearing if not gone. Instead, as Tapscott and Williams (2007) proposes in Wikinomics, the convergence of technology, demographics and global economics is giving rise to a fundamentally new way of creation and organising resources- mass collaboration.

Complex products such as software operating systems, medical research and even vehicles are being produced through such means and to a certain degree, so is architecture. Today, various professions and suppliers come together to realise the creation of a building and from a general survey of the conditions affecting architecture, it is clear that the conception of architecture is going to be an increasingly collaborative effort among an even wider group of people.

// specialized knowledge
Due to the increasingly specialised knowledge required to produce a building, it is impossible for a single architect to know everything about any particular aspect of it. This increasingly specialised knowledge has led to the rise of specialised trades such as landscape architects, façade specialists and sustainable consultants and it is clear that the creation of a piece of architecture is increasingly becoming a team activity.

// lower costs + better expertise elsewhere
Similarly, easy access to lower costs of production in other parts of the world such as China have led to more parties being involved in the conceiving of an architectural project. Outsourcing of various phases of the design process is becoming common as seen in the outsourcing of model-making to China and rendering of visualization perspectives to offices located in countries such as Thailand.

// the global marketplace
The ease of searching for product suppliers through the internet, has also allowed architects to put together architectural products such as windows and façade panels from a variety of suppliers all over the world with ease. The internet has become a large catalogue at the disposal of the architect and inevitably, the architect finds himself working and collaborating with people from all over the world to produce a piece of architecture.

// ease of collaboration
Co-ordination and communication is critical when collaborating with others especially at a scale as large as the conception of a building. The possibility of such large scale mass collaboration is facilitated with advancements in technology that have broken many communication barriers. The use of Instant messaging and video conferencing tools such as MSN Messenger and iChat together with telephony software such as Skype have allowed all the various parties involved in the project to communicate easily and at a very low cost.

Advancements in file sharing technologies have also made it possible for architects and the various consultants involved in the conception of a building to exchange files easily through the use of FTP servers and other software such as LimeWire and online file-sharing websites such as YouSendIt.com. Also, with the increasing standardisation of file formats across the world, collaboration among the various parties is also getting easier.

This ease of collaboration means that new dynamics within the project team can arise. Exchanges of ideas among team members become easier and now that one does not need to be physically at the same place to talk, discuss and work on the same document anymore, collaborations across physical distance is now possible.

// the Net-Generation
Tapscott and Williams (2007) suggests that the presence of the Net-Generation (Net-Gen) is one of the key factors in the rise of the collaborative culture. This generation, born between 1977 and 1996 numbers approximately 2 billion people and will inevitably dominate the future. More importantly, this generation is not a group of mere passive recipients of mass consumer culture but grew up with the Internet and love it, seeing the Internet as an ongoing, ever present massive collaboration.

Spidey: One of the first to realise the liberating aspects of the World Wide Web.

The spirit of collaboration is embedded deep in the culture of the Net-Gen as they grew up with the tools of collaboration at their disposal. The popularity of blogs and file sharing and also the success of websites such as flickr, facebook and mySpace among others is proof that the idea of peering and collaborating is inherent within them. It is thus possible to say that the next generation of architects, who will be from the Net-Gen, will bring this mentality into the making of architecture.

Ultimately, all these factors put together suggest the rise of a global production model where various parties from all over the world collaborate in order to produce a single piece of architecture. This ease and prevalence of collaboration and peer networking will also inevitably redefine the role of the architect who will increasingly find himself unable to have absolute control over the project but rather rely on the shared collective knowledge and efforts of his network. Welcome to the world of collaborative architecture.

Adib is the co-founder of 5ft Creatives and a designer at Farmwork. He likes to walk on the FiveFootWay.