Volume 1 - UPC

If a learning culture begins with the individual are we preparing and empowering individuals to
provide the leadership to address the looming challenges? Have we considered the specific skills
that will be necessary for the design and construction leaders of the future? Is there a priority on
the development of a diverse set of voices able to mix environmental and cultural priorities ef-
fectively?
What does the scholarship, research challenge mean for the setting and recognition of creden-
tials? What does this mean to the evolution of the roles for individuals in the design and building
industry? Do we understand that unless we become more diverse in how we are constituted as
scholars and practitioners our approaches will become narrow and therefore less able to address
the complexity of the situation before us?
The American Institute of Architects has begun to address these questions by evolving a cur-
ricular framework for continuing education that will now underlie all of its continuing education
offerings at national meetings. What opportunities for collaboration exist here for the scholars
among us? What curricular exploration here can inspire new forms of education?
The ability to seek out best practices and precedents from every source and interpret this infor-
mation to the best advantage of a project is no longer the province of a select few. It is an im-
perative that even the most junior members of an office have the ability to carry out such an
exercise. Similarly, in the academy it is no longer the advanced graduate students who follow
the rigors of scholarship and research. The ability to seek out information from a diversity of
sources must be considered a basic skill to enter the design professions. Ultimately, it is the
diversity of culture, race and gender, intellectual perspective and experience that will enrich the
creative process.
The Socialization of Information
It has been said that we can “hear the sound of geography falling.” Just as we are linked by
environmental patterns, we are also increasingly global in our means of living and working. New
information technologies and growing digital currency among people of all ages present us with
significant opportunities. The sharing of information across national boundaries, cultural bias and
economic means implies an inclusivity that may be a powerful tool to address environmental
concerns. Today we connect practitioners across continents without much concern for the social,
cultural and environmental implications. It is observed that every culture has been transformed
by a sense of speed of change. It certainly was a reality to those at the crux of the technological
transformation underway between the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. Yet nothing compares
to the immediacy of what are now experiencing. This new form of communication has promul-
gated work and lifestyles that are amazingly crosscultural but also encourage behaviors that are
just not sustainable. Yet this new technology has also worked to provide forms of relationships
hitherto unknown in the evolution of society. We are truly on the verge of a society founded on
collective intelligence with repercussions we can only imagine. We are evolving away from tradi-
tional organizations to networks enhanced by new forms of communication. The servicing of the
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