About the New Architect

With over 40 years of experience as a lecturer, architect and driver of architectural policy, Thijs Asselbergs looks ahead in About the new architect. In response to conversations with students, Asselbergs shares his personal perspective on the profession and explains how ‘the new architect’ should be shaped.

In 2008, when Thijs Asselbergs had just taken up his position as professor at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), the investment bank Lehman Brothers collapsed. It ushered in the financial crisis, which had an enormous impact on the construction industry and architecture. Over half of the architects at the time lost assignments or quit altogether. This led to a rise in small architectural firms with all kinds of new forms of collaboration. What does the future of architecture look like after that turbulent history? Which challenges await the current generation of architects in times of far-reaching economic and climatic changes? And what is the difference between the old and the new architect?