Happy Halloween! I’m sure many of you went overboard and carved an extreme pumpkin or created an amazing costume for your kids. Every year, I am reminded of this classic photo of seven architects in the 1930s dressed as New York buildings they designed.
Have fun and stay safe…
-michael
Slow Growth for Billings and Contracts in September
The September AIA Architecture Billings Index fell to 51.7, down from August, which demonstrates slowing growth similar to what we saw back in July. New Design Contracts also fell to 50.7, which is indicative of a much slower pace of growth.
The commentary discusses how architecture employment continues to be high, but there is growing concern about 2023 and a looming recession that may hinge on oil prices. Only 36% of firms expect their annual revenue to increase next year.
September: 51.7, August: 53.3, July: 51.0, June: 53.2, May: 53.5, April: 56.5
ABI September 2022: Despite slowing billings growth, firm backlogs remain robust
RLB’s North American Crane Index continues to demonstrate strong demand for construction. In addition, RLB seems to be more confident than architects — they anticipate the number of cranes in use will continue to rise in 2023.
RLB Crane Index North America Q3 2022
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On the Housing Shortage
John Boughton, writing an Opinion piece in The Guardian, discusses his vision for how social housing projects should be addressed in the U.K.
We can build enough homes for everyone in England. So why don’t we?
Cathleen McGuigan discusses her take on the Housing Crisis in the U.S. for her October 2022 Editor’s Letter.
October 2022 Editor's Letter: The Housing Crisis Continues
Both think architects and interior designers have the creativity to help address the concerns. Also of note, half of all cranes counted in the RLB report above are being used on residential projects.
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A Deep Dive into the Economics of the Nordic Open Letter
For those interested in a detailed look at the Nordic Open Letter to Autodesk, this is a fascinating journey that explores monopolies, Revit rivals, perils of changing BIM solutions, architectural education’s role, the QWERTY keyboard, why IBM was so powerful, and more.
There are truly a multitude of factors that have led us to Revit being the de facto BIM solution. As the article states, it takes true bravery to choose another platform.
The article is broken up into 3 sections — be sure to read all three.
The Revit Open Letter Through the Lens of QWERTY-Nomics
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Digital Leaders
Speaking of bravery, our BIM problem may be solved by some of our incoming digital leaders. It is important for firms to realize that they need digital leaders as part of their overall leadership team if they want to thrive in a BIM, AI, VR, Metaverse world.
