I’m not a fan of new year’s resolutions for similar reasons you might see in a myriad of new year articles about this. I don’t ignore the threshold to the new year but prefer instead questolutions. These are resolutions framed as questions and you can read more about them in this post Questolutions: The Power of Questions to Get Things Done. I won’t go into detail, if you want to know more read the post, but I will explain briefly.
One thing that might be on many people’s minds right now is a motivation to work more flexibly. A resolution might be “I want to work more flexibly this year.” the questolution would be “How might I work more flexibly this year?” It’s an aspirational question that identifies the resolution and leaves open the way to address it. The answer might evolve and change over the year. It sets you up for success more so than failure.
The architecture profession has much to offer and many ways to improve in the new year. Here are ten questolutions I have for the profession and/or practices to contemplate, answer and work on this year. Many are related, pick the ones that resonate with you.
- How might the profession lead important discussions around public spaces and the public interest this year?
- What’s the untapped resource for public good that exists within the architecture community?
- Is this the best model of practice? How might we find new and better ways to practice?
- How might the profession improve diversity equity and inclusion?
- How might the profession better address wellbeing within the profession and the community?
- What assumptions are no longer serving the profession?
- What are the lessons that the profession has learnt that they are yet to embrace?
- How might architects get better at enrolling the public in the work they do?
- What is the change you want to see in the world and what is the first step that can be taken towards that change? What’s the next one?…
- How might I move from barracking on the sidelines and start to support and actively work with the profession on making the profession better?
What would you add to your list?
Picture by Puscau Daniel Florin on Pexels [edited]
