Expert: John Henry Architect - 3/14/2009

Question
Hello Mr. Henry,
I am currently pursuing my architecture degree at Notre Dame (I am in my first year).
 Recently, I came across your reply to Mr Catania's query about Classical Architecture and was compelled to ask you a question that has been at the back of my head for a while now: How viable is it to pursue Classical Architecture in today's world? In your reply you mentioned Modern architecture has taken over commercial construction in today's world. If that's true is it going to be difficult for a graduate like me to find jobs, since realistically speaking no one wants to hire someone with a purely 'traditionalist' grounding?
Also, how important is it to pursue internships during graduate school?

Answer
Hello Bisma,
Thank you for your question.
Let me ramble...
I learned the general 'rules' of classicism through my own research (visits to Europe, books, photos) and practice.
I was taught Modernism exclusively at Texas A&M University.
I have seen in the last 15-20 years (rift began at the time of the Post Modern Movement)more and more commercial buildings being remodeled back to a traditional or classical style than ever before, and new commercial projects with classical details.
The New Urbanism movement is almost exclusively draped and fashioned by old world aesthetics and planning.
It is the best time for Classical Architecture since the change from Modernism to Post Modernism.
I think you can survive practicing only Classicism but you can hedge your bets if you like and study some contemporary architecture as well.
I don't see classicism waning at the moment and there might be an acceleration in the direction of traditionalism, which is often tied to conservatism, in light of the current economy.
Notre Dame should prepare you to deal with the technical aspects of engineering, structural MEP, etc.
There are several exclusively traditional offices and many that are straddling the fence in the commercial field.
Yes, it is riskier and more difficult to find employment in commercial construction as most offices are still pushing Modernism.
In residential work I have found over the last 24 years almost an exclusive request for traditional work, so I would not hesitate to say that this specialty will continue in a regional traditionalism.
You can do your internship after graduate school unless there is some other advice you are getting from your professors.
By the time you are out things will have improved markedly in the workplace.

Additional comments from a material supplier:

WHY THIS RECESSION IS GOOD FOR TRADITIONAL BUILDING
Sometimes you have to lose something to appreciate what you have. We have lost our new construction boom in a sub-prime morass. Banks won’t lend. Cheap fuel is lost forever. Ex-urban Mcmansions are boarded up in ghost town cul-de-sacs across America. This is good news for the $170 billion traditional building market .

Conservation is back in vogue, historic restoration and renovation are more sensible than ever, “embodied energy” is a new household phrase, adaptive reuse of existing buildings is the market’s hot spot, and the United States Green Building Council, heretofore construction nouveau-philes, now understands the importance of LEED standards for historic and existing buildings.

As Rick Rosan, president of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) told me, “It takes a shock like this to make people change.” ULI released “The City in 2050: Blueprints for Change,” a white paper about the future of real estate development, at the recent Urban Land Expo in Miami. Confused about the state of our industry, I decided to attend to hear what the “suits” were saying. Guest speakers included four former HUD secretaries and Paul Volcker, former chairman of the Federal Reserve. Attendees were the developers, building owners, and bankers who drive private residential and commercial planning and construction in the United States and around the world.

What I heard in the seminars, at the coffee bar, and in the ULI presentation of “2050” was that the world is going urban, and urban is green. The key factors driving this change are population growth, globalization, global warming, capital markets, rising energy costs, and equitable development.

ULI predicts that 80% of development will be in cities or on the urban edge. “The drive toward 2050 is about building sustainable communities that withstand the test of time,” the white paper proclaimed. “It’s about building for people and about building in harmony with the natural environment, not in spite of it. Well-planned communities, those that give residents the option to drive only a short distance, walk, bike, or take transit, have a central role to play in mitigating climate change.”

Hallelujah! When developers look to the cities and close-in suburbs, they will find a proud and sensible inventory of well-built, sustainable historic buildings that serve our needs. Many of these old buildings will require restoration, renovation, and sensitive in-fill nearby. Many more historic buildings will be adapted for new uses. These buildings, which convey our heritage, will represent  permanence and certainty in changing times. As our population grows by an estimated 100 million people over the next 40 years, our pedestrian-friendly historic neighborhoods and public buildings, parks, and squares will welcome people from around the world .

But there is sprucing up to do! Problems are opportunities. Traditional building—the restoration, renovation, preservation, and contextually designed new additions and in-fill that are necessary to serve our needs—is a solution now both obvious and urgent.



Peter H Miller
President
Restore Media, LLC