The Prophecies

Michel de Nostredame (Nostradamus)

Rather than writing a post along the lines of a unimaginative end-of-year Internet meme (such as lazily featuring only the first sentence of the first SW Oregon Architect blog post I published each month during the preceding year), I will instead mark the end of 2017 by offering my own take on the equally hackneyed institution of would-be soothsayers. The following are my prognostications, a la Nostradamus, about the future of architecture as 2018 approaches. I’ll even do as the cryptic Frenchman did: Rather than using plain, modern-day English, I offer my predictions in the form of abstruse quatrains.(1) I’ll first pose a question, followed by my prophecy in response:

Artificial Intelligence

True artificial intelligence is adaptive, self-learning, and intuitive. A.I. research has recently taken great strides, so much so that A.I. is making inroads into our everyday lives, including architecture, and its impact grows with each passing year.

The question: Will AI begin to take jobs away from architects in 2018?

The prophecy:
After the eclipse of the Sun will then be
The monster divine omen will be seen in plain daylight
The new land will be at the height of its power
So that on the left hand there will be great affliction  

By ChristinaC. (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Augmented Reality
Much like the exponential advancement of artificial intelligence, improvements in computer technology now make it possible to provide immersive experiences within real-world environments whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input. Augmented reality will inevitably change the way architects make design decisions by overlaying digital content onto real-world imagery. This technology will only improve and become more affordable in 2018 and beyond.  

The question: Is augmented reality actually a slippery step along a path toward completely virtual experiences and the abandonment of society’s preference for real places? Will virtual reality someday render brick and mortar buildings obsolete? 

The prophecy:
You will see, sooner and later, great changes made
Over the walls to throw ashes, lime chalk, and dust
Not far from the age of the great millennium
Pointed steel driven all the way up to the hilt 

Designing for Resilience

According to the Resilient Design Institute, resilience is the capacity to adapt to changing conditions and to maintain or regain functionality and vitality in the face of stress or disturbance. It is the capacity to bounce back after a disturbance or interruption. At various levels—individuals, households, communities, and regions—through resilience we can maintain livable conditions in the event of natural disasters, loss of power, or other interruptions in normally available services. 

Relative to climate change, resilience involves adaptation to the wide range of regional and localized impacts that are expected with a warming planet: more intense storms, greater precipitation, coastal and valley flooding, longer and more severe droughts in some areas, wildfires, melting permafrost, warmer temperatures, and power outages. 

Resilient design is the intentional design of buildings, landscapes, communities, and regions in response to these vulnerabilities. 

The question:  Will the increased application of resilient design principles keep architecture relevant in an increasingly unpredictable and dangerous world? 

The prophecy: 
When 2018 is seven months over
For forty years it will be seen every day
War captive halfway inside its enclosure
Drinking by force the waters poisoned by sulfur

Architects and Politics 
The coarseness and divisiveness of today’s political climate has taken its toll on many of us. We’re stressed out when we think about the future direction of the country. Anxiety and uncertainty are at an all-time high. The election and presidency of the mendacious and unpredictable Twitterer-In-Chief has fed fears. An increasing number of architects wonder whether they should step into the political ring and voice their support for evidence-based (read: “science-based”) policymaking related to climate-change regulations and resilient design efforts, and opposition to budget cuts intended to gut environmental protections. 

The question:  Will architects serve as an instrument of positive change in the new year by constructively and/or disruptively engaging ethical and political concerns? 

The prophecy: 
Garden of the world near the new city 
Will cause its realm to hold in peace and union 
It will be seized and plunged into the Vat 
Late and soon comes the awaited help 

Economic Contraction 
The ongoing economic expansion and its concomitant rise in the gross domestic product, productivity, and prosperity has seemingly defied gravity since 2009. The buoyant economy has lifted most all boats, including the construction market and, in turn, the architectural profession. 

The question:  For how much longer will the good times roll? Are we headed toward a crash in 2018? 

The prophecy: 
No more than seven months will he hold the office of prelate 
Extreme horrors and vengeances 
War captive halfway inside its enclosure 
Nimes, Toulouse, perish in water, the market to collapse  

The Next Big Thing 
Too many architects have shied away from confronting the big problems of a world beset with enormous challenges. It’s far too easy to focus instead upon the more immediate exigencies of professional practice today, such as addressing arcane code issues or meeting staff payroll; however, what the world needs are visionaries, brave people willing to lead by example toward real, effective changes. 

The question:  Who will be the next Frank Lloyd Wright, the next great visionary architect? 

The prophecy: 
He who will have the government of the great cape 
Will cause the towers around the New City to shake 
Sword and lance before heaven is observed as serene 
King to be outside, he will keep far from the enemy 

*    *    *    *    *    *

So there you go: Visions as clear as the wellspring of the McKenzie River and as prescient as if uttered by the Oracle of Delphi. That said, I make no claims of true clairvoyance but if it turns out my quatrains accurately foreshadowed actual events, just remember you read it here first. 

Happy New Year!

(1)  I can’t take full credit for these quatrains: I relied upon an automated, online Nostradamus prophecy generator to mimic the seer’s famously vague predictions of future events.