Canopy: career transitions in academia and architecture

The world is rapidly changing due technology advancement and globalisation. Cities will continue growing at a rapid pace. Professions and university degrees in the built-environment need to better reflect these occurring phenomena. A challenge for architects is to stay relevant in professional practice beyond the domain of their profession. A dialogue needs to take place about established and newly opening career paths in architecture education and practice. What are the leadership and professional transferable skills that need to be considered in curricula development? The lines between undergraduate, postgraduate and professional practice are also blurring. In order to stay relevant the profession and degrees in architecture will have to adapt and respond from factors such as the 4.0 (digital) revolution; evolving procurement and client engagement modes; and the changing nature of socio-intellectual capital gravitating towards transdisciplinary practice. Two lineal career experiences across academia and industry examine the changing nature of architecture practice. The technique applied is that of 'the reflective practitioner', much used in legal and medical education. The first case maps the transition of an early career architect coming from postgraduate education and entering the professional world. The second case explores the transition from an academic at professorial level into practice-based research. Results are discussed in relation to impacts on pedagogy, career-path development and curricula development.