Alejandro Aravena
ELEMENTAL is a for profit company with social interest, whose shareholders are the Universidad Católica de Chile, COPEC (Chilean Oil Company) and the Elemental founders. Its field of action is the city: the development of housing, public space, infrastructure and transportation projects that can perform as an effective and efficient upgrade in the quality of life of the poor. ELEMENTAL operates in contexts of scarce resources, using the city as a source of equality, and moreover, as a shortcut to correct inequalities. When Elemental began in Harvard University in 2000, social housing was associated with a lack of economic and professional resources that had generated a lack of options for poor families. Elemental wanted to change this negative association, using professional skills to work with social housing. SCALE. SPEED. SCALE. SPEED.
Spatial Agency
Spatial Agency is a project that presents a new way of looking at how buildings and space can be produced. Moving away from architecture's traditional focus on the look and making of buildings, Spatial Agency proposes a much more expansive field of opportunities in which architects and non-architects can operate. It suggests other ways of doing architecture. In the spirit of Cedric Price the project started with the belief that a building is not necessarily the best solution to a spatial problem. The project attempts to uncover a second history of architecture, one that moves sharply away from the figure of the architect as individual hero, and replaces it with a much more collaborative approach in which agents act with, and on behalf of, others. Although Spatial Agency started out as a critique of the conservative tendencies of mainstream practice, it ended up as a celebration of the bravery, canniness and optimism of an inspiring group of historical and contemporary figures.
Strategic Proactive Business Development for Architects
These days clients who issue RFPs for architectural services are receiving roughly 60-75 proposals, when they used to receive 20-25. More firms are throwing their hats in the ring because of fewer opportunities. If the first exposure a new client has to your firm is receiving your proposal, keep reading. Step 1 | Achieve Clarity about Your Architectural Practice Proactive business development begins with having a very clear understanding of your firm. Step 2 | Plan Your Business Development Strategy To create a meaningful strategic plan for growing your practice, it’s best to look back at the last three years, and then look forward for two to three years. Step 3 | Identify Market Sectors If you ask an architect what his or her firm does, the person will likely recite a list of markets served, “We design health care, government, higher education, and office buildings.” Anyone marketing to higher education knows that it isn’t enough to have general campus experience.
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