Upon finishing this reading, I feel as though I have heard a similar message many times in many different ways throughout my architectural education. Our practitioners need to be welcoming to the latest technology and take on more of the construction processes themselves. While I have also heard the architecture industry compared to the aircraft and automotive industries many times, I had not yet heard about the specific differences in their methods of fabrication. At first, I did find it a bit odd that a field as sophisticated as architecture is not up-to-speed with the automotive, aircraft, or naval industries, but at the same time, architecture has far more small offices than the others. Sophisticated software and fabrication technology is an enormous investment, one that primarily only large, profitable firms can make. If cutting-edge software and fabrication equipment is essential to the aircraft industry, its employees only have a handful of offices to consider for employment. The health of our industry, in this regard, is something to be considered.
While I am a bit skeptical, I do believe that a familiarity with fabrication methods and a relentless pursuit of good design work is essential to architects that desire to build provocative, complex projects. SHoP Architects undoubtedly faced many challenges in taking the unconventional approach to the design and fabrication of their Porter House Condominium project, but I don't believe that their software or design methods are outside the abilities of many others.
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