Architecture as Information Business

There is an old story of a boilermaker who was hired to fix a huge steamship boiler system that was not working well. After listening to the engineer's description of the problems and asking a few questions, he went to the boiler room. He looked at the maze of twisting pipes, listened to the thump of the boiler and the hiss of escaping steam for a few minutes, and felt some pipes with his hands. Then he hummed softly to himself, reached into his overalls and took out a small hammer, and tapped a bright red valve, once. Immediately the system began working perfectly, and the boilermaker went home. When the steamship owner received a bill for $1000 he complained that the boilermaker had only been in the engine room for fifteen minutes, and requested an itemized bill. This is what the boilermaker sent him:
For tapping with hammer: 50 cents
For knowing where to tap: $999.50
Total: $1000.00

Steve Andreas, Frogs into Princes.

In the Industrial Age, the whole business was drawing plans.
A new client, a new project, new income.
Big occasional payments.
Fees for service, on the job R and D.

In the Information Age, the business is everywhere but the drawings.
Then again, even drawings.
Michael Graves sells his drawings without building them.
Sell everything, including the expertise for the kitchen sink.
Whatever others will pay for is the basis for business.
Package as bits and PC's.
Travel the world.
The Internet is Internetional business.
What do architects know about?
Find out, make it up.
Package and sell.
Produce your service and service your produce.
Packages that stand alone and sell themselves.
COD for R and D.
Daily cash flow soothes the financial nerves.
It's all information.
It's all software.
That's business.


Related Articles: Architectural Know How: We ask three obvious questions that could shape your future in architecture as an information business.

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