Architosh Staff (info@architosh.com)

18 Aug 00

Futurist tells Architects "Welcome to the Webolution"

Frank Feather Addresses Architects Technology Summit Attendees

PHILADELPHIA - Addressing several hundred architects attending the third Architects Technology Summit hosted by CMD Group and the Greenway Group, futurist and author Frank Feather told the group that they are witnessing an Internet revolution, though in its stone age, and it will make the industrial revolution "pale in significance." Within the first 15 minutes of his presentation, the first of the day, Feather welcomed the architects to the "webolution," and predicted the automobile will become primarily "an information appliance" ("a modem on wheels"), the end of the office tower ("paper factories in the sky"), and an Internet economy "reversing everything the industrial revolution put into place." Sometimes, he told the crowd, "we need to fly at 30,000 feet to see the world farther ahead."

The Architects Technology Summit, held in Philadelphia May 3 prior to the American Institute of Architects National Convention, draws cutting-edge architects and construction industry professionals who rely on technology to drive the growth of their businesses. Feather-the author of many successful books, including The Future Consumer: Predictable Developments in Personal Shopping and Customer-Centered Marketing on the Information Superhighway and G-Forces: The 35 Global Forces Restructuring Our Future-clearly caught the audience's attention as he paralleled how the industrial revolution changed the way that we live and how the Internet revolution will change it back. People will again be making a living working at home, and instead of coworkers, people will again rely on their families and neighbors as a social support system, he explained. "All of life and commerce is converging on the Web," said Feather.

The futurist rattled off a volley of statistics which leave little room for doubt that the future is already upon us. There was no Internet browser until 1993, he reminded the crowd. Use of the Internet has become the fastest uptake of technology by households in our history-including the telephone and the television. Computer chip speeds double every 18 months. A new personal computer is turned on in the United States every two seconds; a new cell phone is activated every second. By 2004, there will be 1 billion active cell phones, half of those with Web access. "We're going wireless; broadband will be abundant and free. The Internet will always be on. People will be conducting commerce in their automobiles. Email will be read out to you," said Feather. "We already have more computing power in a modern sedan than Neil Armstrong had when he landed on the moon," he added. "It's very clearly a different world."

The implications for architects are vast, as Feather outlined. As an example of how old economy businesses are reinventing themselves for the future, he cited Boeing, and explained that they don't say they're in the airplane business, but in the information business. Their forte, said Feather, has never been manufacturing the parts of the airplane, it has been putting them together, much as the architect is in the business of bringing concepts together. Might they also be in the information business, he queried.

The Web means business is being conducted, according to Feather, "at the speed of thought." Architects must now "design at the speed of thought," and this creates a number of opportunities. "Slash design-to-completion time," he said. "Become digitally competitive. Use your info-structure as a vehicle for just-in-time work, and to speed the bidding process. Eliminate paper, and use multimedia 3-D design models for compelling presentations and 'wow effect.' Use video, use simulations," Feather urged. "Don't build anything that's not 'smart,"" the futurist warned, meaning any structure that does not contain the latest technologies in every system and allow for easy upgrades in the future. "Focus on growth markets and sectors like high tech, leisure/tourism and healthcare. Avoid mature, dying and overbuilt sectors like office buildings and shopping centers," he said. Buildings are no longer structures but mediums, according to Feather. He urged architects to consider how the end use of buildings might change, and to "build flexibility in."

Perhaps most importantly, Feather encouraged principals and heads of firms to rethink their roles in companies. "CEO now means Chief E-commerce Officer," he told the group. "You cannot delegate this function. It must be driven from the top." These leaders should "hire radicals" to keep them "firing on all digital cylinders," said Feather. He told architects to "future-proof' their designs, and provide access to project financing. "Design in cost savings, design in revenue generation," he encouraged.

Feather's presentation was the first of six during the day-long Architects Technology Summit which later included Alex "Sandy" Pentland, Academic Head of the MIT Media lab and U.S. Ambassador to Denmark and licensed architect, The Hon. Richard Swett. Concepts Feather introduced were referred to during the afternoon session as he directed the attention of all at the Summit toward a future full of possibilities.

This report is reproduced courtesy of CMD Group and Greenway Group.

The Architects Technology Summit, sponsored by CMD Group and the Greenway Group, is a day-long series of presentations from leading visionaries in the fields of technology and design to architects and construction industry professionals. Technology presents an opportunity to transform the $800 billion construction industry; the Architects Technology Summit is a forum for proactive industry leaders to learn and share ideas for the future. Previous Summits were held in New Orleans and San Francisco. The next Architects Technology Summit will be held in November 2000. For more information visit www.atsummit.com.