Jill Harmon received a BArch degree from Rice University. She currently lives in Houston, Tex., where she specializes in laboratory design and planning at WHR Architects, Inc.

The Next Architect is a manual for the architect of tomorrow, a multi-vitamin of best practices. A catalyst for spurring architects to change and prepare for the future, it reads like a casual conversation with your resident gray-hair mentor—the type with his finger on the pulse of the future. In actuality, many experiences have inspired the authors of this book, James P. Cramer and Scott Simpson.


“Design changes everything because we’ve finally learned that if we can imagine something, we can create it”

The ideas expressed throughout the book were inspired by a series of interactive dialogues with architects, engineers, consultants, and clients about the challenges that are facing the profession. The authors posit that a new leader is needed. That leader will be: “The Next Architect —the person (or firm) who is truly energized by what’s ahead and willing to provide the energy, focus, commitment ,and inspiration to make it happen.”

Chapters are organized into easily digestible portions with the salient points called out in quotes on pages throughout the book. You could easily read this book in one sitting or divide it up into many small pieces – coming back to it as needed to refresh your memory or spur your thinking.

“Being perpetually restless for change is a very useful trait because it drives us to solve problems and invent new things all the time.”

The Next Architect outlines many ways that the design and construction industry is changing. According to the book, we are immediately facing three major paradigm shifts. First, a majority of projects will be team-based. The solitary designer of the past will be replaced by a team of many talented minds (and disciplines) working together to solve complex problems. Second, information will be readily accessible to all parties. New technology will support this trend by providing the design team with the means to produce intelligent 3D models quickly and the ability to share information easily. Third, the speed of project delivery will rapidly accelerate. Leadership and decision making will be key factors in this process. The Next Architect details how these changes will affect the practice of architecture, how to navigate the changes and how to emerge as leaders of tomorrow’s design world.

“It’s not new things, but a new way of doing things that makes all the difference.”

One chapter of particular interest is titled “Process Innovation.” The authors describe how “it’s not necessarily new things, but a new way of doing things that makes the difference.” This is “process innovation.” They go on to discuss many examples that have occurred over the last few decades including the move toward debit cards, ATM machines, electronic banking, digital music (from eight-track tapes, to cassettes, to CDs to iPods) and the rise of the Internet. How do these examples of process innovation  apply to the design industry? The authors suggest that ours is one of the few industries yet to be transformed by process innovation. They go on to describe what’s wrong with the typical design and project delivery method: it is based on contention rather than cooperation and driven by lowest cost rather than highest quality.

The authors then provide a look to the future and suggest a better mode of operation. Ideally the team ethic would replace the old contention-based model. Contractor and client would join the architect as essential team members from start to finish. The contractor would have more input during design, assisting the architect with cost and constructability issues. They conclude that this would translate to clearer, more complete documents and an improved bidding process. In this scenario owner, architect, and contractor would all benefit.

“The team ethic binds the various players together—nobody can win unless everybody wins.”

In the acknowledgements, the authors recognize that “any book about the future is necessarily grounded in the past.” They created this book in part on reader responses to their previous book, How Firms Succeed. In reading The Next Architect, you will find common sense information on how to run an architectural practice today as well as preparing it for the future.

“Imagination plus insight creates foresight.”

I really liked The Next Architect 's compact format and the way it encouraged me to think. The authors portray a rather utopian vision of the future, but it seems to be a vision within reach. The reader is asked to step outside his or her comfort zone and consider the possibilities. In turn, the authors show how the entire process of designing and delivering a project could be transformed. They suggest many ways that architects should be facilitating these all important changes. With practical knowledge, historical facts, and examples of other transformed processes and industries as illustrations, they have produced an informative and enjoyable read.