COLUMN

摘要

I spend quite a bit of time these days giving CPD talks in architects' offices around the world and it never ceases to amaze me how passionate those who have decided to make architecture their career are. They are not driven by advancement, power or profit - as are many - but rather they seek to improve the way we live, work and play. They want to make a difference and so continually seek to do things differently and better. To an architect, innovation is real and something that they seek to achieve every day in a real and tangible way. I have spent much of my life working in, or for large companies who talk a lot about innovation and trying to do things differently - but, in truth, most would not recognise real innovation if it jumped out and hit them. The other problem is that most firms see innovation as a way of creating a competitive advantage, which in simple terms translates as making more money. This is, of course, fine but it does not drive change and improvement in quite the same way as architects' desire to create a better environment.