Architects: Keep Calm, Carry On As Policy Upheaval 'Makes Everybody’s Head Explode’

At a time when prices and policies are rapidly changing, Houston architects are focusing on what they can control: user experience, careful implementation of technology and managing expectations.

It's fair to say times are turbulent. Some subcontractors are only holding quoted prices for one day, giving general contractors and developers little to no time to consider their options, Collaborate Architects principal Caveh Masum said at Bisnow’s Houston Architecture & Design event on Wednesday.

Even developers that don't care about market conditions need them to stay consistent to work out financing for their projects, he said. 

“Everybody’s frustrated,” Project Luong principal Alec Luong said. “You can handle a set of rules you might not like, as long as those rules stay the rules. It’s that shifting sand problem that really makes everybody’s head explode.” 

Because of this, architects and designers must carefully consider what they promise developers, panelists at the Westin Houston Memorial City event said. That means being clear about price fluctuations and determining what is most important to developers.

“There’s nothing worse than presenting an idea and you show this beautiful image, then you move forward and it looks nothing like that at the end of the day,” Masum said.

Beyond rocky macroeconomic conditions, designers have to understand how their clients operate and how operations of restaurants, hotels and businesses differ from each other, Abel Design Group Managing Principal Jeffrey Abel said.

That's especially important because priorities are shifting in different sectors, CannonDesign principal Kristin Ledet said.

When choosing material for seating in the healthcare sector a decade ago, durability was the focus so it could stay in place for 20 years without needing replacement, she said.

That is starting to change as operators focus on experience-based design. Material today may be softer, meaning it doesn’t follow the guiding healthcare principles of years past.

“The leadership of these organizations are making deliberate choices to change their operations, to help with advanced cleaning procedures, or they're making the commitment to change out with capital dollars in a couple of years … because it is having a direct impact on the experience of the people coming in,” Ledet said.

For more permanent components, catering to organizations’ needs can help reduce waste, Abel said. Materials used to build walls, ceilings and floors can end up in a landfill, worsening the building’s environmental impact.

“It doesn’t matter how pretty it is, how much you spend building the ceilings, all that good stuff,” Abel said. “If it doesn’t work for the client, it’s not there for the long haul. They’re going to renovate it later.” 

Staying on top of tech is a differentiator as well.

KW Landscape Architects is using ChatGPT to help model water retention designs to be more environmentally conscious, Director of Design Cynthia Dehlavi said. But since ChatGPT has its own environmental impact, Dehlavi said it’s important to be intentional and informed when implementing technology.

For example, KW has installed tanks that capture stormwater, which can be used to water plants, she said. She discovered some office tenants weren’t taking advantage of this function because they didn’t know how to use it.

“It’s something that we really need to keep in mind with new technologies,” Dehlavi said. “If the people that are running buildings or taking care of landscapes do not know how to use it, or it’s not user-friendly, it’s such a waste.” 

And while laypeople are taking on some of their own design jobs with the help of generative AI, architects are not worried about being replaced. It’s important, however, that they master the use of AI in architecture ahead of their clients to continue showing their value in an informed way, Gin Design Group founder and Creative Director Gin Braverman said.  

“Expertise and continuous technology training is really a way to stay relevant in the long haul,” Braverman said.