Changing architectural practice paradigms and their implications for professional education

The intent of this paper is twofold: to reflect on the architectural profes sion's varied responses to changes that occurred in the business environmen t over the last half of this century and to explicate key curricular concep ts that educators can engage in the development and implementation of infor med architectural pedagogy that acknowledges strategic responses that were initiated by practitioners in order to gain market advantage. Of fundamenta l concern is the gradual change irt market demand for architectural service s that began in the early 1960s and became more pronounced due to prevailin g economic pressures during the early 1990s. This change, still in progress , impacts architectural education because it is being fueled by mt increasi ng demand for architectural services that are integral to strategic managem ent-dependent project delivery systems in contrast to traditional creative design-dependent approaches to building design. Because in a chain of event s education models incorporate concern for progressive and viable practice models, this paper examines the changing contexts of professional practice and recent developments in methods of project delivery, which are causing a fundamental restructuring or paradigm shift within the profession of archi tecture. The implications of consequentially emerging practice paradigms fo r professional education are also considered by exploring means by which co rresponding relationships between these can be enhanced.