In this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes. But I would argue that there probably needs to be a third item added to Benjamin Franklin’s quote – architectural wage theft. It’s fair to say that the architectural profession is undergoing some much-needed self-reflection due to recent occurrences. The last few years have seen everything from toxic learning environments, unionization and even professional fee rigging. It is also abundantly clear that architecture has a long-hour culture that remains deeply problematic. At its core, this article suggests that wage theft stems from both bad actors AND our innate desire to learn our craft from people we respect. It questions the master-apprentice relationship commonly used and explores how artificial intelligence may be the key to the solution.
How not to be in the office
In March 2022, news broke of two Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) faculty members who were put on administrative…