Innovate or Die

Now architecture is dying, too. David Celento warns in the latest issue of Harvard Design Magazine that architects are about to go extinct, which may be just as well, considering how miserable they are. Only two percent of British architects are happy with their work. Apparently no one has dared to ask American architects how they're feeling these days.

Celento identifies two threats to architecture: 1, more innovative professionals like engineers and sustainability consultants have encroached upon turf once reserved for architects, and 2, architecture is a custom craft in an age of mass production. Over-engineered German cars are status symbols, but they're parked in standard-issue McMansions. "To avoid obsolescence," Celento declares, "architects need to increase demand for their skills by embracing emerging technologies that both stimulate and satiate consumer desires." Which means: design buildings that look like iPods. Or like Herzog & de Meuron's 40 Bond.