The impact of immigration in San Francisco during the tech surge in the 90’s have brought innovation to the city. Former Mayor Ed Lee brought the tech giants by implementing attactive tax incentives for the companies to put up their offices in the “Tenderloin”, a once derelict area. Since then, there were 1,975 tech companies that moved in- all starting a what was considered the Digital Goldrush. Tech millionaires were catapulted by incubators around the city and so forth. But a lot of basic rules preside progress: real estate demand shoots up as high earners starts to look for places to live in. Gentrification automatically follows real estate “progression”. The rest follows.
As an architect, I would obviously welcome the rewards brought by demand for new housing and offices ie. the surge in the construction and high level architecture. As the IT sector continues to flourish- I can’t help to see where we fit in: Where is our golden ticket to all of this? Looking at the AIA Salary ratings in San Francisco, our projected salaries look modest but in reality, can’t sustain the lifestyle in the city. Where is our version of ‘’architectural’’ runway? what is our version of Google? One thing is clear: is that the practice architecture will need to evolve, and fast. I would go as far as looking back at the practice itself- are we overdue for an overhaul. Those who can see the writings on the wall will thrive. My take on this:
We need to start to make things quicker and more efficient
Less people working on the project the better, but how
innovation provides extension of our productivity and brainpower
Machine Learning is key, will replace extra hands (and brain)
Coding is the new alphabet
Dynamo
Grasshopper
Unreal Engine and Unity
We need to get paid on our digital efforts
Shorten transactional costs
Start to veer away from traditional way of compensation, fees
There are a few voids out there that will get us paid without actually building- these voids change thru time- therefore always be progressive and constantly adaptable
As an urbanist, we concern ourselves with issues outside the physical structure:
delicate balace of progress and culture
capitalism is always a catalyst and culprit of progress, a counteract would need to be implemented
eviction epidemic
Ellis Act evictions 175% last year ( see website)
real estate reacts to supply and demand, sometimes in the harshest of ways
progress in hyperspeed
tech should give back to the communities
prediction
onlined
less brick and mortar stores
experiential is premium- eg. coffeeshops