SHARE (shâr)

My first job in the world of corporate architecture was at HOK Sport in Kansas City. It was a new office specializing in the design of sports facilities and was also a new addition to the Hellmuth Obata and Kassabaum group of architectural offices across the world. The tools of the trade at the time were, a drafting table and associated drafting equipment, a telephone (that I shared with another employee named Craig), a fax machine, a photocopier, a library full of material supplier information, a blueprint machine and a computer terminal connected to a main frame computer in Saint Louis (the mothership of HOK). There were only a few terminals and it required a significant amount of training to be invested in the employee to understand this new way of drafting.

Today all of the original tools are still available (yes I still draw by hand too), but the terminal is now a desktop computer. The software we use on our computer has changed from drafting to building modeling and the quality of the other software available is vastly improved, but it is not the software that has changed the way we do business. Essentially all the computer did for architects was change the tool they were using to draft with. We became more efficient, maybe more accurate, but it didn't change our business model. It is what the computer is connected to that has created the greatest change in our practice. The internet.

We now use online software (often referred to as web 2.0 or cloud computing) for the majority of our business tools. We use online time tracking and project management, online accounting, online contract administration, and are currently evaluating online office software for word processing and spreadsheet tools. In addition, we use the internet for email communication, online chat communication, electronic fax, and telephone through VOIP. Still yet, this is only a change in the conduit of the same tools. The largest change has come from the ability to access information. The internet has become our library, our source of information. A tool that has replaced an entire room full or sources that we had previously researched and reviewed. We now have access to more information through the internet and we no longer need to act as librarian.

Suppliers of materials and systems used in the construction of buildings have found a great form of communication with architects and builders. They are sharing information about their products, systems and services through the use of websites, emails and advertising on the internet. Not only can an architect find product descriptions, but can also download specifications, computer drawings and even some computer models of these products. This has become an incredibly valuable tool to architects, because the internet makes it extremely easy to share this valuable information.

We as architects (and I suspect other businesses) are relearning the lessons that were so hard to comprehend in Kindergarten. How to share. We have worked hard to learn and gain knowledge. We have competed with each other. We have become more efficient. We worked hard to protect our information and reduce our liabilities. But the reality is that we have only shared our knowledge in an effort to convert our knowledge into cash. After all, that is what a professional, an expert in the field of anything does. But as the world changes and our values change, so changes our practice. The structure of the internet is the inspiration. We are learning to share our knowledge with those that share our values in an effort to improve our world and in the process we are all benefiting. This is an integral part of The Progression.